Next to You
by PD Transformed
Summary: Shipwrecked, Zoro Sanji & Robin are left stranded on an island. Sanji and Robin accidentally drink from the Fountain of Youth, leaving Zoro with two adorable kids. The rest of the crew have been captured, but are they really in danger?
1. Prologue

Lying next to you, I listen to the sound of your breath as your chest rises and falls. You

stir slightly in your sleep, but then you are motionless yet again. I reach out to stroke

your soft green hair, but before I can touch the silkey mop I withdraw. You've already told

me once, I should have accepted it then. I still don't know why I had done it; why I said

what I said, or why I did what I did. I really wish I hadn't though, I miss all of those

pointless squabbles we would have and when we would fight each other untill Nami-san

would have to interfere. I wish we could go back to those times, because they are the

ones I treasure the most. The times when you considered me to be both your rival and

your nakama, but now, you avoid me like the plague. And whenever we face those pitifully

weak rivals, I want to be able to stand right behind you, my back facing yours and yours

facing mine as we defend each other. I loved listening to you laugh whenever we would

eat meals and the others would act like clowns. I loved watching you from the galley

window, lifting massive weights as beads of sweat dripped down your muscular torso.

But what I miss most is when we would tease each other with smirks, insults, and

name calling, because all your attention would be on me, even if it was just for that

moment, and even though it was a smirk, you still smiled at me. I love your smile.

...I love you...


	2. We're Sunk

Hello everyone~  
Just a quick note: as you will discover (if you continue to read this story) that the first several chapters are short, but I promise you they get longer. Don't believe me? go see for yourself. I started this fic a while ago so as this story progressed my "skills" improved, so if you bear with me for the first few chapters, i promise that it'll get better.

-PD

* * *

**Chapter 1- We're Sunk**

Sanji opened the door to the galley to let in a soothing breeze. He had been cooking in there all afternoon and it was starting to get really hot in there. He took off his jacket and unbuttoned a few buttons. He caught a glimpse of Zoro training on deck, as usual.

'_That dolt, even though he has abnormally massive amount of muscle he still insists on weight lifting. Idiot._' But then upon looking at his own barely toned abs, he felt a little ashamed and button his shirt back up. _'Maybe I SHOULD start training a little more...'_

"Oi, Zoro."

"Mmm?" Zoro stopped lifting his massive weights and turned to look up at the cook.

"Toss me one of those weights."

Zoro stared, face unchanging, "Are you an idiot?"

"Hanh?! What's that supposed to mean you muscle-headed freak?"

Zoro stayed perfectly calm, which was ticking off the cook, "They're too heavy for you, baka."

Sanji's face flushed, and he starting yelling incoherent things out of rage as Zoro started training again.

"Cook-san, please do try to calm down. Zoro may be right."

"Even you Robin-chwan?" Sanji's rage was replaced by tears instantly, "Am I so weak that I cannot impress my lovely ladies?!" Sanji's tone became violently determined; "I SHALL BECOME STRONGER FOR ROBIN-CHWAN AND NAMI-SAN!"

He went into storage and pulled out one of Zoro's 'lighter' weights. Or tried to rather. Apparently the swordsman used LEAD weights. Making them even heavier than they appeared. Sanji was amazed they hadn't broken through the wooden floor of the ship.

Sanji struggled to pull the weight out of its storage space. He gave up with using his arms and lifted the weight much more easily with his foot. He grabbed the weight off his foot and struggled to carry it back on deck.

"What the hell are you doing..." Zoro asked from behind.

"Gah, shit! Zoro!" Sanji dropped the weight onto his foot with a clunk and the sound of breaking bones. Sanji stood paralyzed just staring at his foot. Zoro nonchalantly bent over and picked up the weight with ease.

"Chopper!" Chopper came scuttling around the corner.

"Nani? GAH! SANJI YOUR FOOT! IT"S BROKEN AND BLEEDING! WE HAVE TO FIND MEDICAL ATTENTION IMMED—"

Zoro gently hit chopper over the head, "That's why I called you."

"Oh...right...heh heh..." Chopper laughed sheepishly, "Sanji," he started in a more serious tone, "We'll need to carry you. I'll go get my medical stuff ready." Chopper ran off to the 'infirmary.'

Sanji took one look at Zoro, "No way in hell."

"..."

"Don't you dare baka-marimo"

"Fine." Zoro started to walk off. Sanji attempted to hobble over to chopper's little doctoring area, but could feel immense amount of pain every time he moved his leg. Zoro looked back momentarily but continued to walk on.

"Oi, shitty Marimo. Do you get pleasure from seeing me struggle."

"...You wanted to walk."

Sanji got mad all over again. "YOU COULD AT LEAST HELP YOU ASSHOLE!"

Zoro walked back over. He placed one arm around Sanji's waist as Sanji put his own arm around Zoro's neck for support. Together, they slowly got back to a panicking doctor.

Several hours later when the anesthetic had worn off, Sanji awoke feeling like shit. He was lying on the couch in the men's quarters, apparently to be put out of the way of the daily mayhem. The ship was rocking wildly; he heard faint shouts from above deck. Suddenly a wall across from him burst open and a flood of water came pouring in. In almost no time, Zoro was down there to fetch him. Sanji wasn't about to argue, he didn't have the strength to try and go back on deck on his own. But before they could reach the stairs, the wall completely gave way and they were submerged. A piece of the hull hit Sanji square on the back of his head, knocking him unconscious.


	3. Never Drink From Unmarked Fountains

**Chapter 2- Never Drink From Unmarked Fountains**

Sanji awoke with a throbbing headache on the sandy beach of a thickly forested island. He was about to sit up, but nausea kept him from getting up. His mouth was dry and chalky; it hurt his throat to swallow.

'_Damn, I need to get something to drink...' _His broken foot reminded him that it was still there and, indeed, still broken. Sanji reached down to touch his foot. It was in a solid walking cast. _'Chopper always thinks ahead...I guess he figured I'd try to walk before I was healed.'_ Sanji finally took in his surroundings with a little more common sense. _'How the hell did I survive that?' _Off in the distance he heard the creaking of a falling tree. About 45 minutes later, He saw a tired, frustrated Zoro walking toward him with a fruit tree over his shoulder.

"Food." He took off three of the fruits and handed one to Sanji. He heard someone walk up behind him, and the sound of rustling leaves.

"Who's the third fruit for?"

"...Robin..."

"ROBIN-CHWAN IS HERE TOO?!"

"Yeah...it was hard to swim while hauling both of you." Zoro walked over and gave a fruit to Robin who had been laying a little ways away from Sanji, but still out of his sight. She was still groggy from the seawater.

"What happened to the others?" He asked

"Dunno. They might have gotten captured by the enemy ship, we managed to escape though."

"Wait...what?"

"While you were sleeping, we got attacked by enemy ships. They managed to sink us."

"Fuck..."

"Yeah..."

"Swordsman-san, we need to find water or we'll perish." Robin had been silent the entire time and had managed to just then capture their attention. "Zoro and I can walk, so we'll go looking for water. Sanji, you should stay here and rest."

"No Robin-chwan I shall accompany you OW! Dammit..."

"Sit down you big baby, we'll be back before you even notice we're missing."

Sanji pouted. He patted himself down for his cigarettes, but when he found them they were ruined. "I'm going with. You can't stop me."

"...sigh..."

"Sanji-san, is that a good idea? Your foot..."

"We've got nothing to carry the water in, I might as well come."

They set out to search for water. They walked into quick sand, snake pits, and anything else dangerous you would find in a stereotypical forest; complete with bloodthirsty, ravenous, jungle cats. They searched for hours; Sanji eventually had to ask Zoro for assistance in walking, and eventually found himself on his back riding piggyback like a little child. They were exhausted, and overheating in the hot muggy climate of the forest when they finally found a small spring. It was surrounded by and overgrown and mossy shrine that was starting to fall apart.

"Robin, what's with the shrine?" Zoro asked tiredly.

"Well, obviously this spring was highly valued. It appears that any tools of worship and any decorative ornaments have been removed or stolen, and the writing is so rubbed off I can't make it out, but just by looking at the design, I can tell it was regarded highly and is probably centuries old."

"Robin-chwan is so smart" Sanji remarked weakly. Zoro set Sanji next to the spring and let him drink. Robin also started to drink from the spring. They both drank greedily, relief spreading through them. Zoro however, was about to drink when he heard growling behind him; he went off to go kill their first of many meals on the island.

Sanji drank more than he ever had, for some reason; this water wasn't giving the same affect as normal water would have. No matter how much he drank, his stomach remained empty, he couldn't feel any sort of filling affect. He stopped and looked up at robin, she was still drinking.

Sanji saw his clothing slowly start to grow. His jacket sleeves got longer and longer until his hands were at his elbows. His pants had become loose and had fallen down to his ankles his boxers accompanied them shortly. But he wasn't embarrassed since his shirt now covered his knees. He looked up at Robin.

"Robin-chwan!" Sanji exclaimed in a high-pitched voice.

Robin had also shrunk. Her jacket and pants had fallen and so had her bra; her underwear had managed to stay in place. She was standing in a t-shirt that went about to the middle of her thighs.

"I believe we have found the 'Fountain of Youth,' Sanji-san..."


	4. And We're Off

**Chapter 3- And We're Off**

Sanji fell flat on his ass. He stared straight ahead waiting to wake-up from this odd dream.

"Cook-san? Are you alright?" Robin knew she was looking for her own comfort in those words. Sanji wasn't the only one who was frightened, but then again, who could blame her. There was a rustling in the background as Zoro came lumbering in with a huge jungle cat slung over his shoulder.

"Oi, Sanji, can we...eat...thi-" Zoro gawked at the two toddler crewmates of his, "I'm probably still asleep...mmmrgh..." He put the big dead cat down and settled himself to go 'back' to sleep.

"Oi! Baka-marimo! Wake-up shit-head!"

"Mrf...shuddup Sanji...lemme sleep..."

"Swordsman-san!" Robin tottered over to his side, "I'm sorry but this isn't a dream. The spring, it's reverted us back to our child-like form."

Zoro opened his eyes slowly, "...yeah, definitely a dream."

"BASTARD! WAKE-UP!"

"Swordsman-san please believe us!"

"...Prove it..."

Robin inhaled and walked back over to the spring.

"No Robin-chwan, don't drink anymore!"

Robin took in a small sip and started to shrink again. She didn't get too much younger, but she was no longer able to stand on her own legs.

"Oh...oh fuck! Shit! What the hell am I supposed to do!? How the fuck am I supposed to get you guys back to normal!?" Zoro had gotten up and was walking around in circles running his hands through his hair. Robin started crawling towards Zoro. Her small tuft of black hair and here big blue eyes made her absolutely adorable.

"Swordsman-san, perhaps there is a village somewhere on this island that can help us." Both Sanji and Zoro blinked at Robin. I mean, c'mon, it's weird hearing such intelligable things come form the mouth of a baby.

"M'kay." Zoro grunted.

"But how are we supposed to get there? Robin-chwan and I won't be able to make it on our own."

Zoro sighed and picked Robin up off the ground and, surprisingly, held her like a father would hold his first borne: delicately and lovingly.

"Never thought you could do that Marimo."

"Shut up bastard or you'll walk the whole way with your broken foot." Sanji looked down at his foot. The bandages were hanging loosely around the swollen foot. Sanji sat down and started to retie it, but failed miserably. Zoro bent over and put Robin down.

"Baka-cook...grumble...idiot..." He muttered as he carefully rewound the bandages.

"A—Arigato, Zoro." Sanji whispered as Zoro moved to pick Robin up again. He looked over at the blonde as he slowly stood up, Robin in hand. He sighed and picked Sanji up as well.

"Hold on..." And Zoro was off running through the jungle, jumping over logs and swinging on the occasionaly vine.

"Swordsman-san, other way."

_SCREEEEEEECH_


	5. What's Up Doc?

**Chapter 5- What's Up Doc?  
**

Three days had passed since the incident and the trio was still wandering around the vast forest, most likely due to Zoro's poor sense of direction.

Zoro was now at a walking pace after Sanji had insisted that they slow down. Robin had fallen asleep in his arms and was cutely chewing the small ball of Zoro's shirt that was clenched in her tiny fists. Sanji was getting tired as well. He had moved up to Zoro's shoulders so he could stay on with more ease. His chin rested on the top of Zoro's head and his hands were firmly clasped in Zoro's hair to keep himself from falling.

"Zoro...put me down...I have to make dinner."

Zoro ignored his request and continued on walking.

"Oi, baka, didn't you hear me? I said put me down!"

"I heard you, now shut up!"

"Oi! Who the hell do you think will be keeping you fed hunh? Baka Marimo!?"

"Do you see anything we could eat?"

Sanji glanced around and then sank into defeat.

"When we see something, I'll kill it and then you can tell me what to do with it. So until then, just shut up."

Robin woke at their argument and blearily ran over in her mind what had happened. She ground her gums and two small teeth into Zoro's shirt as she thought about what they could do. She realized what she was doing and quickly released Zoro's shirt and blushed out of embarrassment. She picked her head up off of Zoro's bicep, which served as a surprisingly comfortable pillow, and rubbed her eyes.

"Swordsman-san...I see a village."

"Hmm? Or you're right. Nice, Robin." As he started to run, he protectively put a hand on Robin's head and held here close.

"Swordsman-san. I'm fine, you don't need to hold me so."

"Mm." He grunted and removed his hand to support Sanji who was flopping around on his shoulders. Zoro did want some of his hair to be intact with his head by the end of the trip.

"Zowo, swow down!" Sanji whined.

"What was that cook-san?"

"I told Zoro to slow down."

"Oh." Robin thought that maybe she had just heard wrong.

------

"We're here."

"No shit Marimo." People stared as the trio made their way through town. They would even stop in the middle of whatever they were doing to point out the arguing baby and full-grown man. Zoro had put Sanji down, but held Robin in his arms in a sitting position. He hated having to walk so slowly, just because Sanji had insisted on walking even with his broken foot.

"Sanji, we need to find a doctor so he can properly rewrap your stupid foot!"

"I told you it'll be fine!"

Zoro hoisted Sanji up by the waist and held him in his other arm. After being properly repositioned so he was straddling Zoro's hip, Sanji pounded feebly against the broad chest crying: put me down! put me down you bastard! Marimo-head!

Eventually they reached a doctor and Zoro lied about the two being his kids. The doctor had a look at the foot. It had been three days since Sanji had broken it and already it was healing at an abnormally fast pace.

"Impressive young lad, and your daddy says that you only broke it about three to four days ago! Well, at this rate you'll be rid of the cast in a week's time! But until then, you should go home and rest. Get your daddy to buy you lots of ice cream." The doctor pinched Sanji's cheek and Sanji just glared at the man for treating him like an infant.

"Well that's good." Zoro commented from over the doctor's shoulder. Just then, Robin started to cough. "Ah, shit..." Zoro ran a hand through his hair.

The doctor looked at the man curiously.

"Sir, not to be rude, but where exactly do you come from?"

"We just exited that big-ass forest you guys have got out there. They were stupid enough to drink our of some spring."

The doctor stood up slowly and looked Zoro straight in the eye.

"What spring?" He asked. Knowing very well which spring Zoro was talking about.

Zoro sighed, "You know damn well which spring I'm talking about."

The doctor couldn't help but laugh to himself. After all, he'd seen so many cases like this it was becoming quite comical.

"Ahh, I see. You've fallen for the trap of the 'Fountain of Youth.'" He started to laugh again. "I know exactly where to find the antidote. After years of research mind you. It's on an island far from here. You can either wait for them to grow up, or you can go there to get the antidote."

"Where is this island?" The 3 of them asked in unison.


	6. Baby Talk

**Chapter 5- Baby Talk**

The doctor had suggested to them that it would be better if the three of them settled down for a little while, or at least until Robin got better. He volunteered to drop in every other day to check on the little princess. Zoro had opposed at first, but agreed in the end, ,figuring that he wouldn't make a very good nurse.

"You see Zoro, my ex-wife had just passed away..."

"I'm sorry."

"Oh...thank you... there is a vacant house near-by that I still, technically, own. I'm willing to let you use it for free."

"What's the catch..."

"Until you can get a job and pay the rent as well as your doctor fees. Besides, after hearing your story, a little niceness wouldn't kill you."

"Th-Thank you Oji-san."

"You're quite welcome." The doctor showed them to a rather small single-story on the outskirts of town.

"Thanks I'll be perfect. We won't be staying long so it'll fit our needs."

"Can I go check it out Zowo?" Sanji smiled up at Zoro with his big eyes and grabbed Zoro's hand.

"Oi, baka. What's the matter with you?"

"Nothin you shitty swordsman. Now are you gonna let me see the house or not?" Sanji asked from Zoro's side. He looked at his hand in disgust and dropped it immediately. Zoro rubbed his hand on his shirt and walked into the house. Robin was put down once they were inside. She crawled off to explore as Zoro took in the simplicity of the house.

"Thank you doctor. We'll be very happy here." Zoro said as he picked up Robin so she could shake the doctor's hand.

He settled her on his hip and waved towards the disappearing doctor and closed the door.

"I wie im dowo!" Robin said (aka: I like him Zoro).

"W-What?"

"Zowo-nii-chan!" Sanji came dashing from around a corner. "Come see! Come see!" Sanji grabbed Zoro's hand again and dragged him off. Sanji walked crookedly on his broken limb, but he was so excited to show Zoro what he had found that he didn't care.

"Oi Sanji. What're you doing? Baka." He was trying to gently get his fingers out of the tiny fingers. But, as Zoro would later learn, children have exceptionally strong grips (A/N: very true!).

Sanji had dragged him through the house, and into the back yard.

"Lookit, Zowo-nii-chan." Sanji had found an old tire swing that was being gently nudged by the wind.

"Push me!"

"No."

"Zowo-nii-ch—"

"Stop calling me that you damn brat!" Zoro hit Sanji on the head.

"God dammit Zoro what'd you do that for?! Huh? How'd we get here?"

"Are you an idiot? You dragged me out here. How can you not remember."

"Zoro." Robin commented from Zoro's arms. "I think our minds are regressing. We should talk to doctor-san."

"We can talk to him tomorrow. It's late." Zoro smiled, "And little kids need to get to bed."

"No! I'm free (three) yeaws old! I can stay up late wiff Nii-chan!"

"God...dammit..."

Sanji yawned and rubbed a fist roughly over his big eyes.

"Hey, don't do that. You'll hurt your eyes."

"Hai, Nii-chan…" He yawned again and started to drag himself inside.

"Neh, Nii-chan! Nii-chan!" Sanji came running back outside, suddenly full of energy. "Dewre's a _seek-et hideout_!"

"Sanji, what are you talking about. There's no 'secret hideout' here."

"Yes. Dewre._ IS!_"

"Ok then, show me."

Sanji beamed, "Ok, fowwow me!"

Sanji hobbled to a ladder at the west side of the house. "Lookit!"

"It's a loft."

"Nooo. Ih's a seek-et hideout!" Sanji whined and stomped his feet. "OWIEEEEEEEE!" Sanji fell on his butt and started crying. "Owie! My foot..." Sanji's sobs continued, soon, Robin started crying.

Zoro sighed and picked Sanji up while balancing Robin in his other arm. He walked into the bathroom and filled up the tub. Sanji was still crying, but his sobs had lessened. Robin was lying perfectly calm on a makeshift bed of towels.

Zoro undid the bandages and placed Sanji on the edge of the tub and gently placed it into the warm water. Sanji was clinging to Zoro's shirt so he wouldn't fall.

"Thanks Zoro." Sanji said. His mind back to normal

"S'ok baka-cook."

"Sorry about crying."

"S'ok."

"...Sorry about—"

"OK! I GET IT NOW STOP APOLOGIZING AND THANKING ME AND SHIT! It kinda creeps me out."

"Sorry."

"I SAID CUT IT OUT!"

"OK FINE! You won't here another nice word out of me."

"..."

They sat awkwardly. Zoro leaning his back against the tub while Sanji grabbed at the cloth of his shoulder. Robin had fallen asleep and was sucking on her thumb. Her bright blue eyes were hidden behind her fluttering lids. Her little mop of air was disheveled and tangled, but oddly cute.

She suddenly stirred and fell off the pile. She landed on her face and instantly started crying.

This stirred something in Sanji. He could feel his shoulders shake and something well up inside his throat.

"UWAAAAAHH! WAAAAAAA-HAAA-HAAA. AAAAAHHH NIIIII-CHAAAAAN!"

Zoro had gone over to help Robin back up and was now rubbing the back of her head in comfort while Sanji cried on the edge of the bathtub. Zoro walked back over and Sat next to Sanji and started stroking his back.

He started to shush them quietly and slowly, VERY slowly, the began to calm down, and their minds returned to normal.

"You'll make a great mother Zoro."

"Shut up baby-cook!

"Eh?!"


	7. Future Hell, I Mean, Home

**Chapter 6- Future Hell, I Mean, Home**

Zoro finished their baths and tucked them into bed. Sanji got to sleep in the secret hideout and Robin slept in an old wooden crib that sat in the corner of the master bedroom. Zoro was tossing and turning in bed, trying not to think about what he was going to have to deal with for at least several weeks, and on top of that, he was worrying about the other members of the crew.

A few moments later he heard the creaking of floorboards. He heard a series of noises that alternated between a light slap of a small naked foot, followed by the sturdy clunk of a walking cast; then the sound of squeaking hinges. He cringed at the thought, but somehow he knew that whatever just stepped into his room, was dangerous on a whole other level; a level that he hadn't ventured to and hadn't planned on experiencing, but here it was: in his room. And now he was going to have to deal with it.

"Nii-chan...I can' sweep. Can I sweep wiff you?"

"Uhn...Sanji, what the hell are you doing in my room..." Zoro rolled onto his back and sat up so he could glare down at the little boy.

"Pwease, Nii-chan I can' sweep." Sanji was swaying and twiddling his fingers and staring at anything other than Zoro.

Zoro heaved a huge sigh. Weighing the pros and cons of letting the little boy sleep with him in bed. He finally came to a decision after much difficult thinking, "No."

"Bu—Buh...Nii-chan I'm..Ih's (it's) scawy up dare."

"What, you don't like your 'secret hideout.'" Sanji shook his head wildly, trying to convince Zoro of his sincerity. When he stopped, Zoro saw that the little boy had tears in his eyes.

'_Oh shit.'_ Zoro quickly hopped out of bed and was kneeling in front of the boy in no time, grabbing onto his shoulders and looking him straight into his big teary eyes. "Oi, Sanji, don't cry, ok? You'll wake up Robin, and then she'll start crying, and the last thing I need is a crying baby."

"Nii-chan..." Sanji suddenly threw himself at Zoro, wrapping his arms around Zoro's neck and crying into Zoro's broad shoulder. The action caught Zoro by surprise, but eventually, he rolled his eyes and placed his hands on Sanji's back, rubbing gently.

Sanji sniffed and rubbed his nose on Zoro's shirt, smearing it with snot.

"Ah, Sanji! That's just gross..." Zoro heaved a sigh.

"Sowwy Nii-chan..."

"And PLEASE don't call me Nii-chan. It's Zoro. Zo-ro." Sanji clenched his little fists into Zoro's shirt and Zoro sighed again, "Alright fine, you can sleep here, but just keep on your side of the bed." Sanji smiled a toothy grin and jumped into bed. He snuggled down under the blankets and giggled a little. Zoro followed suit, after removing his snotty t-shirt.

"Night-night Zowro." He said, the smile never leaving his face.

"G'night baby-ero-cook." And with that, the two of them fell into a deep slumber.

------------------------

Then Next Morning

------------------------

"Zowro....Zowro..."

Pitter-thunk pitter-thunk....

TWUMP

"HUA!" Zoro was wide-awake and pissed. He fell back down to the pillow when he realized that Sanji had just done a full-scale body-slam from the footboard, his cast ramming him square in the crotch. With a grimace plastered on his face, Zoro rolled over in bed, only to have Sanji climb back on top of him.

"Neh, Nii— oh..oopsie, Zowro, when's bwea-fast?"

Zoro put one of his big hands over his eyes and slowly dragged it down his face, pulling the skin and stretching out his face. Sanji giggled from his position on Zoro's hip.

"You're funny Zowro!" Just then, Robin started to cry. She was holding onto the bars so she could stand and was reaching out with one arm, desperately trying to get Zoro's attention. He pushed Sanji off and threw the blankets over the blonde boy's head.

He walked over and looked at Robin who was now gurgling happily. She released the bars and let herself fall onto her bum and reached her hands out for Zoro to pick her up. Reluctantly, Zoro complied. Robin snuggled into his broad, naked shoulder and stuck her fist in her mouth and began to suck vigorously, drool sliding down her face and onto Zoro's warm skin. Although absolutely repulsed, Zoro smiled a little and walked out of the bedroom and into the small cupboard of a kitchen. He opened the cabinets and searched for anything that might seem mildly edible.

"Zowro, wha's fow bwea-fast?"

"I don't know Sanji."

"Buh I'm hungy-y-y."

"I get it now shut up!"

"Buh—"

"Sanji, if you say one more word I'm going to..." It took Zoro a moment to think of an effective threat, "Or you'll have to sit in the secret hide-out alone for 5 minutes in a time-out." Zoro grimaced as the words rolled off his tongue, but was glad when he saw how effective it was. Sanji slapped his hands over his mouth and backed away.

Zoro continued to look through the cabinets until he found some dried goods, an assortment of canned foods, and some powered milk.

"Better than nothing..." He muttered to himself. Zoro turned around to see a small table with two chairs and a high chair sitting not to far away.

'_It's like he knew we were coming.'_ Zoro was slightly uneasy that everything was set up as if the house had been specifically designed for them. He was brought out of his musings when Sanji started tugging on his pant leg, silently asking for food. Zoro ignored the child and placed Robin in the highchair and went about preparing breakfast.

"Da!" Robin slapped her hands against the tray of the plastic highchair with a frustrated expression, contorting her normally very cute face.

"Hang on Robin..." Zoro was juggling a glass baby bottle, the canister of powdered milk, cereal, an assortment of canned fruits, and a pot to heat the milk in, all the while trying not to trip over Sanji who always managed to get under foot.

"GODDAMMIT SANJI!" Zoro bellowed from the floor. Sanji had finally succeeded in tripping him, sending everything in his arms to the ground with a loud clatter. Robin started to wail and the sudden loud noise and was kicking in her chair and flailing her fists, her face growing red from screaming. Zoro quickly stood up and gathered the baby in his arms, bouncing up and down like he had seen so many other mothers do whenever the crew docked.

It was then that he noticed Sanji was missing. He felt mildly worried that the child had run off somewhere and was going to hurt himself, but the feeling, as soon as it came, was gone again.

"Zoro...you can put me down now."

"Eh?" Zoro took Robin away from his shoulder so he could look at her eye-to-eye, "You're back to normal."

"Yes, I was relapsing. Sorry." Zoro put her back into the highchair, which she didn't object to incase she had another memory relapse.

Zoro sighed as he looked at the mess on the floor: a broken bottle, spilled cereal, and the powdered milk canister that had opened and spilled out; the pot and cans were fine. Sighing again, he leaned over and picked up the cans and the pot, before getting to work on cleaning up the mess.

After tripping his Nii-chan—although forbidden to call him as such—Sanji fled the scene, afraid that Zoro was going to punish him. He felt really bad when he saw the unhappy face of the older man as he struggled to get the fine powder and crumbs of cereal off the floor. Feeling tears well up in his eyes, Sanji ran to go hide in the master bedroom, underneath the warm blankets that had yet to be made.

He pulled the covers up over his head and snuggled his face into Zoro's pillow, trying to find comfort in the scent. He ended up only getting more upset and decided that he needed to be punished. Taking the blankets and pillow with him, Sanji walked crookedly out of the master bedroom and up the ladder into the loft. He struggled, after all, this was no easy feat to accomplish: climbing a narrow ladder with a broken foot, heavy blanket and bulky pillow. But Sanji, however, had miraculously managed to do so without too much effort. He sat on the twin-sized mattress in the dark cubby and quietly cried to himself. Glancing around he spied a spider's web above his head, with a big, hairy spider dangling from it, slowly descending towards Sanji.

"AHHHH! NII-CHAAAN!!!" Temporarily forgetting that he had been banned from calling Zoro by that nickname, he screamed and cried, awaiting his night in shining armor to save him from the foul beast, which was now only a foot above his head. Too scared to move, Sanji only watched in horror as the spider continued to lower itself towards Sanji's big weepy eyes. Only inches above it's target, the spider seemed to got even more malicious and frightening to the young boy.

"Sanji!" It was at this climactic scene that Zoro had finally been able to locate the crying boy and save him from the dreaded spider. grabbing it by the thread it dangled from, Zoro carefully removed the spider from it's web and carried it back down the ladder. Sanji crawled over and stared after Zoro, who had disappeared around the corner and was not muttering to himself. Sanji felt even worse than he had before. He was causing his guardian misery and was only trouble for him. _'Niii-chan,' _Sanji thought, _'Ih's awl my fauwt. I make you sad.'_ Sanji could feel tears well up again, but furiously wiped them away. _'I ain't gonna cwy no mow.. I wanna help Nii-chan.'_ Sanji unwrapped himself from the blankets and threw them down the ladder, which were shortly followed by the pillow he had brought up only moments before. He carefully made his way back down the ladder and heaved the blankets up into his arms. _'Don' wowry nii-chan. I is gonna make you 'appy agin.' _Sanji, determination glimmering in his big blue eyes, set out to do just that.


	8. A Little Niceness Won't Kill Me

**Chapter 7- A Little Niceness Won't Kill Me**

Sanji ducked into the bedroom the three of them had slept in the night before and, with great effort, hoisted the heavy bedding onto the bed and crawled up after it. He took a corner of the blanket and pulled it to one corner of the bed, but was quickly frustrated by the blanket's lack of compliance. It had wanted to stay balled up and had also decided to drag the sheet along with it, so now the sheet was pulled partially off the bed. Sanji huffily threw down his corner of the blanket and pulled the sheet back to where it was supposed to be. He then, with more care this time, untangled the blanket and then dropped it back on the bed. Minutes passed, though they felt like hours to the young boy, and he continued to struggle with making the bed. He let out a frustrated 'OOH' and pulled at his hair.

"Sanji?"

"Eep!" Sanji froze at the sound of Zoro's voice. He could hear the sounds of Zoro's feet slowly approaching the bedroom.

"Sanji?" Zoro pushed the door open with a creek. He was positive that he had heard Sanji 'ooh' from this general direction. "Sanji…" He called in a sub-consciously sing-song voice, "Where are you?" Sanji was doing everything in his power to keep from breathing too loudly so his Nii-chan wouldn't hear him from his incredibly original hiding spot under the bed; he didn't want his Nii-chan to yell at him for making him fall and spill all the stuff, and for making Robin cry. Sanji's wide eyes followed Zoro's feet around to the other side of the bed. Sanji saw that the toes were pointing away from the bed, so Nii-chan must be facing the wall. Sanji saw this as the opportune moment to sneak out of the door while Zoro was looking the other way. Sneaking along as quietly as a 5-year old in a walking cast could, Sanji tried to stealthily escape from the room, he had made it to the doorway when, "SANJI!" Zoro had had his feet facing the wall, but the rest of him was twisted around towards the door so he could easily see the failed escape attempt. The smug smirk that clearly said: 'Ha-ha, I caught you,' quickly turned into one of surprise and a faint glimmer of worry when Sanji burst out crying.

"WAAH-HAH-HAAAH! Nii-chan, gomene! I di'int mean to make you fawl down. I di'int mean to, 'm sowwyyy-hee-hee…" Sanji was kneeling on the floor with his fists covering his eyes. His nose was running, but it seemed to go unnoticed. Zoro hurried over and squatted in front of the boy, his brow creasing in worry (though if you confronted him on this he would deny it, claiming it was a frown of annoyance). He had no idea what the child was crying about this time, but he didn' bother to ask; instead, he looked around and grabbed the shirt that Sanji had soiled the night before and gently pulled Sanji's fists away from his eyes. Sanji was still screaming loudly until he felt Zoro's gentle hand reach under his chin and lift his head so they were eye to eye. Sanji, still scared, was about to start bawling again, but Zoro brought the shirt up to Sanji's eyes and gently dabbed away the tears. Sanji sniffled a little before muttering a faint 'thank you.'

"Blow." Zoro said as he placed the shirt over Sanji's nose. Sanji blew obediently into the make-shift hanky. "All better?"

"Yeah, thanks Nii-chan."

Zoro winced at the nick name, but didn't correct him. "Well, I managed to clean up the kitchen, so I guess I should make you and Robin something to eat."

"You can't cook for shit Marimo."

Zoro's eye twitched furiously, "Of course you choose now to go back to normal."

"What're you talking about, baka-Marimo? Did you hit your head or something?" sanji looked around, noticing that the room looked different. He hobbled over to the window and looked out. "Huh? Morning? Zoro, wasn't it bedtime just a moment ago?"

Zoro grunted in frustration and annoyance, "Listen to your 'Nii-chan and go make breakfast baby shit-cook." Zoro laughed a little, but realized, stupidly, that Sanji wouldn't remember anything.

"Nani? Zoro, I don't know whether to laugh at you for being an idiot, or be genuinely concerned for your health."

"Just get going!" Zoro said, pointing a demanding finger towards the kitchen. Not feeling the need to make Zoro's face any redder, Sanji went. Oh who are we kidding, "Yes Zor-okasan."

"MOVE!" Sanji went, laughing at the poor flustered swordsman, who continued pointing at the kitchen even after Sanji was long gone.

'_How the HELL am I supposed to deal with this kid…'_

---------------------  
After Breakfast  
---------------------

It turned out that Zoro _did_ end up making breakfast, but Sanji—having returned to a child-like state of mind after accidentally burning his hand—didn't complain. Robin, however, hadn't relapsed for several hours and it was curious to her why Sanji was almost always acting like a child, while her relapses were few and infrequent. She contemplated this as she delicately ate her bananas that Zoro had kindly mashed for her, seeing as she had few teeth. It was then that she started coughing. Zoro had been struggling with Sanji, trying to wipe the food off his hands and face, when he heard Robin's coughing. He thought nothing of it at first, but the coughs became louder and harsher and he began to worry. He came up to her and started patting her back firmly, in effort to help the poor baby.

"Zo- cough cough –ro. Cough cough cough. I need to cough cough see Doctor-san." Robin's bout of coughing ended shortly after her brief and choppy sentence.

"Sanji, go into the bathroom and get cleaned up, we're going into town to see the doctor."

"I dow' wanna! I'm cwean, see?" Sanji got out of his chair just to further disprove his point.

Sanji started licking off the food on his hands that Zoro hadn't had the chance to remove.

"Oh, Sanji! Cut it out, that's gross." Sanji bit his bottom lip and smiled toothily, making himself look like an adorable, but impish child. Zoro sighed, "Alright, I guess I'll just have to give you a bath then won't I."

Sanji looked up at Zoro as if he had just had his heart ripped out and stepped on, which made Zoro's heart strain a little.

"Nii-chan, pwease. Pwease don' giff me a baff." Sanji's big pouty eye and lips were enough to stop an entire, cold-hearted army. But the pitiful voice that accompanied it was more than Zoro's stony heart could take…almost.

Swallowing the strange pang of guilt he felt, Zoro picked Sanji up behind the knees and flopped him over his shoulder.

Then he had an idea, something he'd seen a father do in town one day, though he'd have to make minor alterations to suit the circumstance, Zoro was willing to give this a try, "Well I'll be! This wasn't _Sanji_ I picked up."

"Huh? Yes I am! I'm Sanji!" Sanji said, smiling a little at the game Zoro was playing.

"No you're not!" Zoro said playfully, ignoring that little bit of him that was telling him to cut it out and act like a man. "You're a big heavy sack of potatoes!"

"Hee-hee, no I'm not! I'm Sanji!" Sanji was playfully pounding his fists on Zoro's back. And Zoro was beginning to think that he didn't mind doing this every once in a while, he decided that it was much better than to try to force a screaming child into a tub and have the two be angry at each other.

"I have to take these potatoes into the bathroom so we can make potato soup!"

"Nooo!" Sanji screamed playfully, laughing while Zoro pretended to be having trouble hauling the 'heavy sack.' Zoro plopped Sanji down in the bathroom.

"Ok, what do we do first with the potatoes?" Zoro said, getting down to Sanji's eye level, hands on his knees.

"Skin da po'apoes!" Sanji shreiked throwing both fists in the air.

"Ok!" He said enthusiastically as he pulled Sanji's shirt off. (A/N: He's still only wearing the shirt he was wearing before the transformation.)

'_He's not so bad this way.' _Zoro thought, _'He's not as big of a brat as I thought he was going to be.' _Zoro's cheecks reddened at the thought, not from embarrassment or anything of that sort, but because for the first time in a while, he was happy to be spending a little time with Sanji, even if it was doing a ridiculous little scheme to get Sanji into the tub.

"Now what do we do?"

"WE COOK 'EM!"

"That's right!"

Robin smiled from her seat in the highchair. She truly loved watching—or listening to rather, since she couldn't really see them—the two previously sworn enemies interact like father and son. _'Maybe,' _she thought, _'they'll continue to have a good relationship, even after this is all over.' _Robin sighed contentedly as she fell into a light sleep to the sounds of happy splashing.


	9. I Almost Forgot

**Chapter 8: I Almost Forgot**

Usopp awoke with aching limbs and a throbbing headache. He opened his eyes just to quickly shut them again. They felt like someone was pushing them into his skull with their thumbs, determined to blind him. He sat up, trying to ignore the sharp pulls of pain in his muscles from sleeping on the cold stony ground of the cell he shared with Chopper. He demanded that his eyes open, trying to ignore the excruciating pain and the temptation to close them again. He stared at the opposite wall trying to force his eyes to focus in the dimly lit setting he had to unwillingly endure.

"Usopp, are you awake?" Nami asked, barely above a whisper. She and Luffy had been placed in the cell next to Usopp and, unfortunately, out of his sight. The two would talk around the 4-foot stone barrier whenever they were feeling especially grim about their surroundings and would often manage to cheer the other up at least a little with plans of escape. Other times they would share their worries: would Zoro and the others find them; would they die in this horrible place? Or even things like: would there be food that day? Or what they presumed to be days. They hadn't seen sun since the day the Merry sank.

"Yeah, I'm awake. Is Luffy there?"

"No, they took him away again." Nami drew her legs to her chest, rattling the chain. The shackle on her ankle chaffed the recently acquired sores and she winced, drawing in a sharp breath. "Usopp?"

"Yeah?"

"How many days do you think it's been?"

Usopp rubbed his chin. The chains attached to his wrists clanked together as he thought. "I'm not sure, but if I recap our…adventure…maybe I can figure it out…"

"That'd be fine. I'd actually appreciate listening to you talk instead of the hollow silence."

"Ok, just let me wake Chopper up first."

"Maybe you shouldn't, that kairoseki collar he's wearing is really draining. Let him sleep."

"Mm okay, I'll just tell you then. Let's see. I guess it really all began that day that Sanji broke his foot…"

----------------  
X Days Prior  
----------------

Nami stepped out of the men's quarters, shaking her head. "Honestly, Usopp," She said, turning her attention to the marksman, "What did that idiot think he was doing? Lifting Zoro's weights…baka."

Usopp laughed, "Personally, I think we've got all the freakish amount of muscle mass we need." Usopp said, pointing a thumb over his shoulder in Zoro's direction. Zoro winked an eye open and furrowed his brow, grumbling a string of unoriginal insults and curses directed at the sniper.

Usopp and Nami both sighed and turned to go off and continue with their activities, which had been interrupted by Sanji's little…'accident.' But before they had made it far, they noticed a change in Zoro's behavior. He was sitting up at full attention, something they rarely saw unless something was seriously wrong. And also, he appeared to be staring at absolutely nothing, with a genuinely confused expression plastered on his face, another thing they didn't see all too often.

"Zoro, neh, Zoro? What's up?" Nami questioned. Trotting down the stairs to stand next to Zoro, trying to look at what had captured all of his attention.

"Shh!"

"Hmph!" Nami crossed her arms and half-heartedly glared at the swordsman. She hated not knowing what was going on, but then Usopp, who had followed Nami down the stairs, perked his ears and was staring out into the water, just like Zoro was. Nami looked at the two of them, annoyed that she didn't know what was happening or why her crewmates were acting stranger than usual, and not in the way she approved of.

"Oi, Nami. Can you hear that?" Usopp asked. Zoro had gotten up and was now standing at the rail, staring straight downward apprehensively.

Nami listened. "No, I can't. What is it?"

"It's like this weird…I dunno, but it sounds bad." Usopp said, walking over to the rail and looked down into the watery depths. Nami strained her ears, trying to amplify any possible noise that seemed out of place. And there it was, it was like….well, Nami didn't know, but if she had to describe it, it would be like the sound of something very large stomping around inside an almost sound-proof room. You could hear it, but not, all at the same time.

"What is that? What could be making that noise? I've never heard anything like it."

"I dunno, but it's big." Zoro commented, "Really big, and it's headed straight for us."

"NANI!?!?" Nami screamed and ran to Usopp's side, her big brown eyes frantically looking for anything that could be creating such a noise, when she spotted something. "Usopp! There! Do you see it!? Could THAT be it?!?!"

"Oh shit, if it is we're screwed…"

"Can you tell how far down it is?" Nami's calm façade was quickly starting to diminish.

"Ahh, maybe around 3-4 hundred feet…"

"IT'S THAT BIG AND _STILL_ THAT FAR DOWN!?!? Are you SURE Usopp?!"

"Yeah, I'm good at judging distances. Kinda comes with my trade you know? If a marksman couldn't tell when something was 3-4 hundred feet away, that'd be kinda pathetic…"

"We don't have _time_ for that! We have to get out of here!" Zoro, turn the ship to starboard NOW! We have to hurry!" Nami turned to Usopp, clearly very frightened, "Usopp, the sails!"

"I'm on it Nami!"

"We HAVE to get out of here. The only thing keeping that thing down there is a strong current. If it moves another 50 feet forward, there'll be a gap in the current and it can raise to the surface no problem. ZORO YOU TURNED US TO PORT! WE NEED TO GO THE OTHER WAY!!!" Zoro quickly pulled the steering rod to the right, in attempt to correct his mistake, but even if they had originally gone right, they never would have made it. The object underwater was becoming more visible at an alarming rate. The shadow became bigger, and darker. Soon, they could no longer see the edge of the shadow, and Nami retreated from the side of the ship as the thing drew ever nearer. Then, something struck the boat. Nami went down on her knees and started to scream. She put her hands over her ears. The sound that had first told them of the arriving danger had become deafening. Nami felt another pulse as something went shooting through the water. _'What?' _Nami, forgetting her fear for a moment, ran back over to the side of the ship. She saw a long, dark shadow go slicing through the water. Zoro came out of the room with the steering rod, only to have a gigantic harpoon almost go through (or obliterate rather) his head.

The harpoon was pulled back until it became secure in the ship's wood. "THEY'RE GOING TO PULL US INTO THE OCEAN! ZORO, DO SOMETHING!" But Zoro was already on it, he had his swords out and was concentrating on his move. But when he struck, the metal didn't give, it didn't fall into pieces like he had expected. "I can't do anything about it Nami." He said, regrettably.

"Can't you push it out or something?" Nami was becoming frantic.

"Do you see this thing? Its edges are as sharp as razors, I'd lose my hand in a second." Zoro said, frustrated by Nami's lack of thought. He wasn't used to the panicky, scattered Nami. She was usually so much more calm and collected. Robin came running from the Men's quarters with Chopper and Luffy.

"WHAAAAAAA-HAH-HAH!" Chopper screamed at the sight of the harpoon. The ship sifted and the sounds of crackling wood could be heard.

"So this is what pierced the hull." Robin said, her still very calm voice took on a mildly panicked edge. "If we don't remove this thing, we're sure to go down." Another lurch and the ship was now visibly starting to get pulled under.

"Nami," Luffy asked, firmly grasping her shoulders, "What's going on? What's happened?" Nami was starting to regain some composure.

"There's something down there, and it's big. I think that the harpoon came out of it, which means that it is most likely some sort of submarine."

"Oi!" Usopp called from the rigging. He was holding on tightly after the last lurch had almost thrown him off. "You said the hull was breaking open?"

"No, but that is an excellent assumption!" Nami called up.

"Isn't Sanji down there?" They all gasped, their eyes widening.

"I'll get him." And before anyone could blink, Zoro had disappeared down into the men's quarters. The creaking of stressed wood was growing deafeningly loud. Usopp was now down with them, freaking out, "You know, the wood of the Merry isn't that strong anymore, it can't handle the stress of the harpoon; it'll just rip right through her!" And, as if on cue, Usopp's prediction, unfortunately held true. The giant harpoon ripped through Merry and started to sink into the ocean. Nami saw cracks in the hull grow bigger and bigger until finally, it burst open. The ship's hull, now almost completely gone, went down like a hammer.

For a second, Nami didn't dare open her eyes and just swam to the surface. She looked around and saw nobody. She took a big breath of air before diving back under, swimming hard against the oceanic current in search of her crewmates. She saw Chopper, slowly sinking towards the bottom and swam even harder to try to get to the little reindeer. She took hold of his hoof and pulled him to her chest. She swam up with the little body in tow and broke the surface, moments before she would've passed out. She held Chopper above the surface in a desperate attempt to give him some air. She looked around, completely frantic. She saw nothing of her ship or her crew. Not even a spare plank. She panicked. She and Chopper would surely drown. But then, bubbles appeared at the surface about 20 feet away. _'Oh please, God. Let that be someone resurfacing.'_ Then, two masked figures in complete scuba gear appeared, slapping breathing helmets on Nami and Chopper. _'What the hell is going on!?! Someone, please save me and Chopper.'_ She could feel her body weaken, _'Sleeping gas. So these guys are definitely not our allies.'_ Nami was pulled back under the water, she looked down as her vision was starting to fade. Usopp and Luffy were also being taken in those funny helmets, but she saw no sign of Zoro, Robin or Sanji. _'Dear God, please let them be ok…'_ And that was Nami's last coherent thought before everything faded to black.

-----------  
Present  
-----------

"And that's what happened the first day."

"Yeah, I remember, I told you about what I saw."

"But here's the thing…"

----------------  
X Days Prior  
----------------

Nami awoke to darkness. She couldn't see a thing, but she somehow knew where she was. She was inside that ship. That huge monstrosity of a vessel that they had failed to avoid. Nami sat up, she could feel cool metal around her ankle and cursed. She looked around, trying to see by the dim light of only lonely candle. She stood up shakily and took several steps forward, only to be restrained after traveling only several feet. She sat back down and quietly called out with a slight tremble to her voice.

"Hello? Is-is anyone here?"

"Yeah, I'm here Nami."

"Usopp!? Where are you?"

"I don't know, but I'm guessing the cell next to yours. Wow, that sleeping stuff really works, I have to get the recipe for that…"

"Ugh, this isn't the time Usopp!" She sighed, "How long have we been in here do you think?"

"I don't know. That stuff was pretty potent, it could've kept us under anywhere from a couple hours to a couple days…"

-----------  
Present  
-----------

"Oh…that's right." Nami deflated. "I guess we'll never know."

"I almost don't want to know, think that'd only depress me."

"Yeah, I know what you—" Nami was interrupted by the squeaking of a hatch. The light from above was enough to mildly illuminate Nami's dull cell, the most light they would see during their life in the rancid cells. "Luffy's back." She said, calmly as ever. She could hear Luffy's chain rattling as he was lowered down the chute. Luffy was attached at the neck with a kairoseki collar that they used to pull him up and lower him down with. Nami had tried to ask him what was up there and who had captured them and what they were doing to him, but he could never remember, his mind too blurred from the kairoseki's affects. She watched the poor boy be lowered into the cell. The hatch squeaked and closed, the light was now gone again.

Nami stroked Luffy's back, trying to help comfort the boy in their time of suffering. Luffy would thank her with a sigh of appreciation, but that was about all he could manage, being as drained as he was. Nami started to rub his lower back when she came across some sort of strange nub. She lifted his shirt and gasped at what she saw. She dropped the shirt and put her hand over her face, tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

"Usopp." She said, lip trembling

"Yeah?"

"We need to get out of here."

"Why? What's the matter Nami?"

Nami was hiccupping, trying everything not to start sobbing.

" Nami!?"


	10. You Insufferable Brat!

**I'm sorry, it's like three weeks later instead of 1 day later like I had promised. I'm not going to make excuses cause it was my own laziness and lack of time-management that kept me from uploading sooner. If you found this story after I moved it, then good or you. If not, then I'm sorry. I know it doesn't make sense to you about why I moved my stories, but I do have a reason. **

**Anyway, back to fluffiness. Not gonna be dark for a while yet, but it'll get there. Maybe in the next chapter**

**-PD**

**Chapter 9: You Insufferable Brat**

The pair emerged from the bathroom just as happy, if not happier, than they went in. Sanji was dressed in light blue jeans and a white t-shirt they had found, conveniently placed, in a dresser that resided in the larger than average bathroom. Zoro's face was split into a wide grin and Sanji's smile was about to break his face.

"Have a nice bath you guys?" Robin said with a smile. She had been patiently awaiting their return from the 'kitchen.'

"Yeah! Nii-chan maded po'a'poe soup! He..umm..add'd bubbowle bices (bubble spices)! An' an'…" Sanji prattled on about making the world's yummiest potato soup. Zoro walked back into the bathroom to start cleaning up. His mouth was twitched down into a slight frown as he rinsed down the tub and wiped up all the excess water from the floor. He had found fresh clothes for himself as well and was slightly disturbed by it. The chances that he would find clothes for him, Sanji, and Robin conveniently placed in the house were uncanny. Not to mention the crib and highchair.

'_His wife could have had kids.' _He reasoned. That made him feel a little better, but he would have to stay alert.

"Urrgh…" Zoro frowned and rubbed at his temples.

"Nii-chan? Awre you ok?" Sanji came to the doorway. He had one hand on the doorframe and one balled up at his chest.

Zoro looked over his shoulder at Sanji, touched that the child, who was only three, would pick up on his mood and genuinely care about him. Zoro dropped the rag and stood up, not giving the child an answer. Sanji inched closer.

"Nii-chan?"

"Yeah. I'm fine." Sanji frowned, seeing through Zoro's lie. The face made Zoro feel (kinda) guilty for his lie.

"Awre you suwre you is awl-wight?"

"I'm just…stressed."

"Wha' is stw…stwess'd?" Sanji walked towards Zoro who had gone back to kneeling on the floor with the sodden towel in his hands.

"I'm just worried Sanji, but I'll be ok. So quit making that face and help me clean up the mess you made."

"Hai, Nii-chan!" Zoro couldn't tell if Sanji was putting on a brave face for him, or if he actually felt better. He decided to just forget about it as Sanji plopped one of the big towels down on the floor and started to rub at the same spot over and over, as if there was a stain he was trying to get out of a non-existent carpet. Zoro rolled his eyes at the 'help' he was receiving and stood up to wring the towel in the sink. Sanji looked up at Zoro and hefted the dripping towel over to the sink where he tried to reach and copy his Nii-chan by wringing the towel.

"Nii-chan! Up!" He cried, his hands only making it over the edge of the counter. Zoro sighed and hefted the small boy up by his waist and held him up to the sink. Sanji tried, and failed, to wring to the towel that was almost twice his size. Zoro waited patiently for the child to finish and lowered him down at Sanji's request.

'_Never thought I'd actually bend to his will.'_ Zoro thought about the irony of his current situation.

"Nii-chan, I dow'wanna cwean up anymowre."

"Sanji, you helped make the mess so you're gonna clean it up."

"I don' wannaaaa!" Zoro's eye twitched at the annoying whiney voice of the child. Sure, it's great when Sanji's behaving, but when he whined it was just like having sharp sticks shoved in your ears. He wasn't sure if he preferred the all grown up cook to this whiney brat, but he thought he might. At least the 'mature' Sanji didn't whine…as much…

"Stop whining. You're going to help whether you like it or not, baby-ero-cook!"

"No!" Sanji sat defiantly on the opposite side of the room, after huffily throwing his towel to the ground and crossing his arms over his chest. He stuck out his bottom lip and scowled up at him.

"Brat! You get over here right now or I'll give you a time out!"

"Noooooo!" Sanji threw himself on the ground and started to pound the floor with his fists. He kicked with only one leg, seeing as how the other was locked up in a cast. He was screaming his cries of protest

Robin had been calmly thinking to herself, seeing as how she was still in the highchair and was rapidly getting rather bored, when a screech brought her out of her thoughts. Robin looked towards the bathroom and saw a frustrated Zoro carrying a screaming Sanji out of the bathroom and around the corner towards the loft. Robin just sighed and thought to herself, _'Nothing good can come of this.' _Robin heard a disconcerting noise that sounded like the deconstruction of a wall (which was probably the case because it was rare that Robin was wrong.) She whipped her head back around to the way Zoro had gone and saw him walk in with the loft ladder in his hands. He propped it up against the wall and sat down in one of the kitchen stairs.

"Zoro?"

Zoro growled slightly before answering with a demanding, "What?"

"Why do you have the ladder?"

"So Sanji can't get down."

"Oh." Robin could hear Sanji's wails from the loft and sighed a little. "Perhaps you're being a little hard on him Swordsman-san."

Zoro looked up and glared at her, emitting a soft growl. Robin flinched and could feel tears well up in her eyes. She started to cry and Zoro removed her from the highchair. He bounced her up and down, and as quickly, and unexpectedly, as her relapse started, it stopped.

"Oi, Robin, what's up?"

"I don't know. I haven't had a relapse in a while, but…"

"Well, yeah, but that was the shortest relapse I've seen yet. It didn't even last a minute."

Robin considered this and started to wonder what made her so resistant to the relapses while it seemed that Sanji had become fixed in his childlike state of mind. But before she could get far in her thoughts, she started to cough violently. Zoro, before he thought about what he was doing, held Robin closer and was patting her firmly on the back.

"Shit, Robin, we need to get you to that doctor." Robin's only response was haggard breathing.

Zoro ran, ladder and Robin in hand, back to the loft where he had left Sanji barely 5 minutes prior.

"C'mon Sanji, we have to got Robin to a doctor."

"No!"

"Sanji, Robin's really sick , we have to go!" Zoro shouted as he propped the ladder against the wall.

"NO!" Sanji cried again, this time, being daring and looking over the side of the loft and down at the mean man who had trapped him up there.

"Dammit, Sanji! Of all the times to be an intolerable and obnoxious little brat, you WOULD choose the ONE time I need you to be cooperative! Now get down here NOW!" Robin had started coughing again and was barely able to regain any air after each forceful hack. Her face was changing colors due to the lack of air, and her coughs were silent. Zoro was pounding on her back, trying to get the poor baby to breathe. She eventually was able to gasp some air into her lungs and started coughing again, but without her face going purple.

"_NO! BAKA-MARIMO!"_ Sanji blew a raspberry at Zoro and disappeared into the loft once more.

Zoro had _had it_ with that little bastard. His face was growing red and he was practically foaming at the mouth with rage and frustration.

"Well, _FINE!_ Stay here for all I care!" And with that, Zoro removed the ladder and stalked off the go put his boots on. He was about to leave out the door when he heard sobbing coming from the loft. He gave a frustrated 'URRGH' and stalked back to Sanji. Not quite sure why he returned to the aide of the crying child.

"Nii-chan!"

"Ready to come down _now?!_" Sanji nodded. Zoro put Robin down on the floor by his feet, she had stopped coughing and seemed to be doing ok for the time being. "Jump." Zoro held his arms out for Sanji to jump into. It was about a two-foot fall from the loft to Zoro's arms, but to someone who is only about 2-3 feet tall, it seems a lot further.

Sanji stood at the edge, shifting his weight from foot to foot.

"C'mon! We have to go!"

"'M Scawred!"

"I promise I'll catch you." Not feeling as annoyed as he was before, Zoro moved closer and raised his arms higher, lessening the distance between himself and the boy. "Don't worry, I've got you."

Sanji look apprehensively at I guardian, and took a few step back.

"…Sanji, I promise…I've got you." Zoro smiled up at Sanji, his eyes telling the timid lad that he was telling the truth. Sanji returned to the edge of the loft and pulled in a deep breath, his cheeks puffed out with the extra air. Sanji screwed his eyes shut and leapt form the loft and into the comfortable warmth and safety of his Nii-chan's arms.

"'M sowwy, Nii-chan. I din'dint mean to make you angwy." Sanji wound his arms around Zoro's neck, "I wuv you!" And with that he planted a big wet kiss on Zoro's cheek.

"Ah..uh..I forgive you, Sanji." Sanji beamed at his guardian, his face flushed with an unreadable emotion.

Robin and looked up and smiled, _'Maybe I was wrong, maybe it DID turn out for the better.'_


	11. Little By Little

I'm Baa~aaack!

Scared?

You should be

:3

-PD

* * *

**Chapter 10: Little By Little**

Zoro walked with an uncharacteristically quiet Sanji at his side, and a contemplative Robin was nestled in his arm. He welcomed the silence as he, once again, found his way to the doctor's with Robin's guidance.

"Back so soon, son?" The doctor greeted with a smile as he washed his hands.

"She's had some really bad coughing fits." Zoro explained as he sat Robin on the examination table. The doctor pulled out a stethoscope and placed it on the baby's back.

"Tell me," He said as he examined the child's throat with a small light, a tongue suppresser shoved uncomfortably far back in her mouth. "Is there anything…unusual…about her?"

Zoro stared at him blankly.

"I mean, is she just an average human, or is she…say…a devil fruit user?"

Zoro paused before answering, "Yeah, why?"

"Oh, well then that explains everything." The doctor put away his medical stuff placed his examination bag back on its shelf. "I'm sorry, but there is nothing I can do."

"Naniii?" Zoro looked down at the man threateningly, something he hadn't had to do in a while, as he growled out his question. "Why not?"

Seeming completely unfazed by Zoro's threatening aura, the doctor explained with a tone one would use to explain a simple situation to a child that was just not getting it. "Well, think about it: the fountain is basically like a purifier of the body and the soul. While the devil's fruits are considered to be, well, works of the devil: evil. The 'evil' and the 'pure' are basically having an all out war inside her body, which is making her sick. It's like antibodies fighting off a viruses or bacteria. Also, she wasn't possessed by the fruit at that young age, I'm assuming."

Robin shook her head.

"Exactly, the fountain, through a process, reverts you back to your childlike form. Not only are your memories erased, but your body will also go back to the way it was. For example, scars will disappear, limbs can be replaced, and, of course, the genetic alterations that a fruit induces need to be dispelled as well; not an easy process. And that is what's affecting her so. As I said earlier: bacteria and antibodies." Zoro seemed to accept this. "The best thing you can do for her is get her back to normal as soon as possible."

Zoro hummed in annoyance and scratched at the back of his head. "And how am I supposed to do that?" The doctor took a deep breath, as if trying to decide between two less-than-ideal options. He silently ushered them into his private office. It was cushy and elaborate with a large, mahogany desk, a comfy armchair, and a big leather couch. The doctor sat down behind it as Zoro placed the children on the couch before making himself comfortable in the armchair.

"Well, you see...there is this sort of...reversal fountain, as hokey as that sounds I can assure you it's true, and it can undo the effects of the fountain of youth by increasing the age of whoever is drinking it. Just make sure not to drink too much!" The doctor chortled a little at his own joke before continuing with total seriousness. "But sadly, it's dried up. The Fountain of Youth only recently started flowing again and—"

"I don't want to hear bout this unless it's of any use to us." Zoro hopped up from the chair, scooped up Robin and Sanji, and headed for the door.

"Just a minute, please! Allow me to finish!"

Zoro was almost caught off guard when the doctor snapped at him. He didn't show it of course, but he didn't disobey either. He placed the kids back on the couch and returned to the worn-out armchair.

"Now, where was I..." The doctor began. Sanji, as quietly as he could, the cast ruining his stealth once again, slid down off the couch. He hobbled over to Zoro, oblivious of the doctor's annoyed stare.

"Nii-chan," Sanji whined, tugging at Zoro's pant leg. "I wanna go hoo~oome."

Zoro picked the child up off the floor with a 'hup' and set him on his knee, bouncing his leg ever so slightly. Sanji giggled a little, but was silenced when he saw red creep up the doctor's neck and onto his face. Zoro's leg stopped as well.

"Well? Continue." Zoro insisted, holding the, now frightened, child to his chest, letting him play with his shirt buttons.

"Very well, if the young lad would be so kind as to allow me to continue without any more interruptions." Another glare. "My late wife had been conducting research on the two fountains. She was trying to find a way to artificially replicate the water so we could sell it and avoid having suspicious characters lurking about in our forests looking for the blasted fountains." The doctor took a moment to reposition his glasses, his frustration seeming to send them askew. "Anyhow, in order to conduct her studies, she had to collect a large amount of the springs' water. There should still be some in her laboratory."

"Why couldn't we have just gone yesterday!" Zoro's frustration with this man was mounting. The antidote had been in such an easily accessible place and he'd ended up wasting a day he could've used to find his Nakama. If the doctor hadn't looked like he was going to continue with a 'but' Zoro probably would've knocked him on his back.

"You see, my wife's laboratory...travels. Her base is...excuse me, _was_ here. She'd travel and collaborate with other scientists, et cetera et cetera. I couldn't tell you where her lab is at the moment. It usually docks here about once a month."

Zoro sighed, he was not in the mood to deal with this long, drawn out explanation. "Ok, let's just cut to the chase to make this as quick and easy as possible. Tell me these 3 things: when will the base dock? if it doesn't dock soon where can I find it? and how do I get the antidote?"

"Well to give you answers as curt and direct as your questions, I will tell you that and no more. The base will return within the week, so it'd be wiser for you to stay put. If you were to go dashing about trying to find it, I call tell you now that you wouldn't be able to find it. And to answer your third question, you needn't worry about that, I can get it for you. I see that as a part of my job nowadays, plus the lab belongs to me officially. There shouldn't be any trouble getting it."

"I have a question, if you don't mind, Doctor." The three men turned to look at Robin who sat alone on the big leather couch. "Would there be any reason for someone to lose their memories faster than others? And when does a person's memories completely disappear?"

"Well, my dear. In comparison between you and the boy, he will lose his memories much...sooner...than you will, but people tend to completely lose their memories in about 2 weeks time. You have been children for..."

"Four Days."

"Ah yes, I see. Let's see, today is Tuesday, so that means the boy has until about next Friday, and you, young lady..." The doctor screwed his face up in thought, "I'm...not quite sure how long it will be until you've forgotten your memories...seeing as you are...a devil fruit user..."

Robin copied the doctor's thoughtful frown. "I see."

"Thanks Doc, we'll be going now." Zoro placed Sanji on the floor and picked Robin up, heading for the door. "C'mon Sanji."

"I commin Nii-chan!" Sanji started hobbling after Zoro, but before he stepped outside the door, he turned to look up at the doctor. He mumbled something under his breath with a scowl on his face.

"What was that young man?"

Sanji's scowl was replaced by an almost impish smile, as if he hadn't been glaring but a second ago. "Nuffin! (Nothing) Buh-bye!" Sanji pulled the door part of the way shut before clunking down the hall calling, "Nii-chan! Way fow me!"

The doctor sat down in his chair once again, "Peculiar kid. He's gonna be trouble." The doctor spun around to face his window as he laughed at the situation. "Right? Chiyo..."

**o()o()o**

"Sanji, you need to keep up or you're gonna get lost!"

"That's rich coming from you, baka Kenshi."

"Dammit, baby-ero-cook! We need to find that antidote or I'm gonna lose it!"

"And you haven't already?" Sanji's grin was smug, almost out of place on that adorable face.

"SHUT UP!"

The three were slowly making their way back to the house. Zoro had to walk at an uncomfortably slow pace to make sure he didn't lose Sanji in the crowd by walking too far ahead of him.

"What are we going to do, Kenshi-san?" Robin inquired, once again, snuggled against that incredibly comfortable bicep. She couldn't resist playing with Zoro's shirt buttons. They were just so inexplicably interesting and fun to pull at and play with.

"Well, I suppose the best thing to do is wait, though I know someone who wouldn't've wanted to wait."

"You're worried about them."

"And you wouldn't be baby-cook?"

"I'm not saying I'm not, but didn't the...maybe we should try and figure out how to get the antidote fa—first?"

"Well, we can get that in about 4 days, and I'm sure that they'll be fine. Luffy's with them, and Usopp and Nami are quick thinkers. I'm sure they're alright."

**o()o()o**

"Nami, just calm down and tell me what you see." Usopp was desperately trying to see into Nami's cell to make sure she was alright.

"He's...he's got this...thing screwed into his back. It looks like it's going straight into his spine. It's like a hollow ring." Nami's sentence was broken up by the occasional sob. She sniffled and tried to calm herself.

"N'miiii...m'fin...iz jusaiizaboowaahnnn..."

"Luffy..." She stoked his hair and continued to rub his back.

Usopp looked over at Chopper who was staring blearily at the wall. "Chopper, do you have any idea what that is?"

Chopper looked up at Usopp; the voices swimming around in his head. "Choooppoopperrropperr..." The voice wavered, it sounded like he was being spoken to underwater, but the voices had echoes that overlapped, muddling the syllables.

"Uhh..?"

"Luffuffuffy hasuffyasas a asas a thinginging ininghis inis backinisackisack. Whawhatat isatisais itisititit?" Chopper's lids drooped and he begged for his mind to stop ringing.

"Injeshin suh..." he managed, letting his head loll back onto the floor.

"Huh? Chopper?"

"Inje," CHopper inhaled deeply, "keshin si..." And with that, Chopper passed back out.

"Could you understand that?"

"No..." She looked down at the boy who was desperately fighting against unconsciousness. "Luffy, what are they doing to you..." Nami could feel anger boil in the pit of her stomach, making her feel ill.

"Usopp, we can't just wait for the others to rescue us. We're probably miles under the surface, and they have no way of getting here even if they did somehow know we were on this submarine. We have to find a way out on our own."

"I know Nami, but what can we do?"

"...I..I don't know Usopp...I-I really don't know..."

**o()o()o**

"Nii-chan! Nii-chan! I wanna ice cweam!" Sanji was back on Zoro's shoulders, his hands and chin resting on Zoro's head. But when he saw the little, white cart and colorful balloons, he practically threw himself off in excitement.

"Alright, alright." Zoro stepped up to the vendor who smiled at them warmly. "What do you want, Sanji?"

"Uh, umm...I want da wrasbewwy!"

"Say please."

"Pweeeeease!" Sanji's big toothy grin spread to the other customers. A couple of girls whispered 'he's so cute' amongst themselves, one of them even offered to buy him an extra scoop.

"Thank you, but he doesn't need the extra sugar." The girl nodded and went back to join her friends, whispering and giggling about the 'nice, handsome, older brother.'

"Ohh, Nii-chan pweeease? I want da ice cweam fwom da lady!"

'_Now why does THAT sound familiar?' _Zoro rolled his eyes._  
_

"No. One scoop."

The clerk scooped out a generous portion of the deep red ice cream and nestled it into a homemade cone. "That'll be 200 Belli, please."

Zoro handed the man his money.

"Say, I know you." Zoro could feel a little drop of uneasiness run down his spine. "You're that Pirate Hunter: Roronoa Zoro, you sure aren't as much of a demon as I'd thought you were."

"Yeah, well..." Zoro looked up at Sanji before handing him the already dripping cone. "...things change. Thanks for the ice cream."

"See ya! What a nice guy..."

Robin had fallen asleep and was chewing on Zoro's shirt once again while Zoro worked on navigating his way back to the house on his very own. He felt something cold slide through his hair and down the back of his ear.

"Sanji, you'd better not be getting that all over me or I won't let you ride on my shoulders till the ice cream's gone."

"But Nii-chan, I only had a li'l bit. 'm not done yet!"

"Just keep it off of me."

Zoro only got a little further until he felt a big glob splat right in the middle of his hair and start to make it's way forward, towards his face. "Saaanjiii..."

"Hee-hee-hee, 'm sowwy hee-hee."

"Yeah, you sound it." Another drip, "Sanji, I'm warning you..." Zoro reached up and flicked Sanji in the forehead.

"Itai!" Sanji frowned at the mossy green hair that was stained in several spots by the melting ice cream. He didn't appreciate being flicked...an impish little though popped up in the three-year-old's mind.

SPLOOT

Zoro had been internally celebrating the fact that he had managed to find the house in practically no time at all when he felt a shock of cold on top of his head. The little brat had taken his revenge. Zoro picked Sanji up by the back of his shirt with one hand and placed him on the ground, the ice cream now spreading over his scalp in all different directions.

Sanji couldn't help himself; it was too funny.

"Hee-hee-hee-hee! Nii-chan looks silly!"

And he did indeed. Sanji had flipped the ice cream over and planted it on his head, much like a slightly soggy party hat.

"All right, that's it, we're BOTH getting baths."

"Nooo! I had one dis mownin!" Sanji reasoned. "Ownly my dis is sticky!" He slapped his red stained hands over his cheeks.

"Well, I suppose you're right, I can just wipe off your face, but **I** sure as hell need one." He shivered as the ice cream slid down the gap in his shirt.

The three went inside. Robin was still sleeping, so Zoro placed her in the crib for a nap. He went into the bathroom and started up the water for a shower, and was surprised to see Sanji in front of the dresser, pulling out clean clothes for his Nii-chan.

'_Dammit, make up your mind. Are you a good kid or an annoying brat?' _He licked away the ice cream that had trailed down by his mouth as he wet a washcloth to wash off Sanji's face.

"Sanji, look at me."

Sanji stopped what he was doing and stood in front of Zoro, lips pulled in and eyes shut, making sure to from struggling too much. The careful dabbing and gentle rubbing soon removed the drying sugary treat.

"There you go. All clean."

"Thank you, Nii-chan!" Sanji kissed the tip of Zoro's nose and made that unreadable expression again.

"...Welcome..." The kisses were something Zoro wasn't sure he'd ever get used to, nor did he quite know how to respond when he received one. He climbed in the shower and scrubbed himself clean of any raspberry ice cream. When he got out, towel secure around his waist, he saw Sanji sitting against the wall with a towel in his lap. The child's face lit up when he saw Zoro. He quickly stood up, as fast as he could with his broken foot, the towel in hand. Zoro squatted down in front of Sanji, and was surprised when the towel was thrown over his head.

Sanji rubbed Zoro's hair with as much care and tenderness as a 3 year old was capable of. He pushed the towel back and locked eyes with Zoro. "Imma take cawe of you too, Nii-chan!"

* * *

**Author's Note**

Hoo boy. I never though I'd become one of those writers who'd only post a new chapter once every blue moon, but here I am: being my own worst nightmare *sad* oh well...I'll get better! (We can hope...) at least this chapter's longer :D

Just some mindless fluff at the end, it probably went on a bit longer than what was necessary and there were a lot of (probably) useless details, but hey. Nothing wrong with cute, right?

Much Love!

-PD


	12. I Have a Bad Feeling About This

I started this chapter right after I posted the last one. I can't say the same for when I posted it though. I seem to do that quite often...

-PD

* * *

**Chapter 11- I Have a Bad Feeling About This**

"Nami, there is no way we can get out of here. We have no tools, we're chained to the wall, and our powerhouse is unconscious about 90 percent of the time. How the hell are we—"

"Shh! Usopp! Someone's coming down! Don't say another word!" It wouldn't have been a surprise if whoever it was that came down the halls had heard her whisper; they would've been able to hear a pin drop from a mile away with how their gloomy prison ricocheted sounds off of its cold, metallic walls. But whoever the arrivals were, they didn't seem to hear, or perhaps they just didn't care, and continued to approach their cells. The echo of heavy footsteps were building suspense and nervousness within Nami and Usopp's pounding chests as the sound grew louder, more numerous, and more muddled with new echoes running into each other and interfering with each other, creating a mess of sound.

Nami frowned as she tried to think under these stressful circumstances. What could they want? Why were people coming down to the cells? Their meager rations had always been delivered through the chutes that connected their cells to whatever was upstairs. Unfortunately, Nami didn't have time to solve the mystery, because five jailers stopped in front of their cells, all of them were holding tethers and new sets of kairouseki handcuffs and collars. _'How degrdaing,' _Nami thought, _'we're going to be led away like dogs.'_

"Alright, pirates, let's get a move on." The man, who seemed to be in charge of the group of jailors or whatever they were, grumbled, as if this whole exchange was a waste of time, like he had better, more important things to do. He took out a large ring that was overloaded keys and frowned at it. He turned to the man next to him and complained about the keys, unable to figure out which one he was supposed to use.

"Where are you taking us!" Nami demanded bravely, but her voice cracked in the middle of her sentence, ruining the effect. She hadn't realized how painfully dry her throat was until she'd made that demand, and swallowed a couple times to try and re-hydrate it.

"I'm not obligated to relay any information to you." The man's brow furrowed as he shifted through the keys. It was a painstakingly long process, but eventually he found the key he was looking for...or not.

Nami stared at the man through the bars, an annoyed tick making her eyebrow twitch. "Would you hurry it up!" Nami snapped, practically biting the man's face off through the bars, all the pain in her throat forgotten. "I wanna get the hell out of here! Seriously! Can't even open a door!" She mumbled the last bit more to herself, but still made sure it was clearly audible.

"Shut up, bitch, I'm trying!" He pouted angrily as he sorted through the keys some more. When he could feel Usopp's unimpressed stare boring into him he began to sweat a little bit. This hadn't been the fear-inducing aura he'd intended to present; instead, he oozed incompetence, and normally he was anything but a bumbling fool that couldn't even figure out which one of the blasted keys could open a damned door. His temper rose with every minute he stood there like an idiot in front of their prisoners.

Usopp watched the bumbling man in the clean white lab coat – at least she assumed it was a lab coat – fumble around a moment longer, until he felt like he'd absolutely burst if he didn't say something. As much as he didn't want to go with these men, this waiting around was getting kind of annoying. "Oi, oi, shouldn't you have figured out which key it was before coming down here?"

The man growled, not even bothering with a retort. He _really_ was not in the mood to be criticized by a couple of stupid, kid pirates. He finally managed to find the right key, it had been the 8th to last key out of...well, it was anyone's guess how many keys there were, and unlocked the doors. The team walked into the cells and switched out the cuffs and collars. As the four were lead, or dragged in Luffy and Chopper's case, they were oddly calm about the whole thing – their fear having been totally diminished by the 5th attempt at unlocking their cell doors.

"Ne, Usopp." Nami began, completely nonchalant as she was led up a steep flight of stairs.

"What?" He responded, trying to preserve Nami's apparent lack of concern over whether their present company overheard the conversation or not, even though he was sweating a bit more than the average scaredy-cat.

"When we rejoin with the others, we're gonna lie about who we got caught by. I don't want anyone to know we were sunk and caught by a bunch of idiots." She smirked at the main guy when he reacted as she had wanted. His walking became even more stiff, as he was still obviously frustrated, up the stairs in front of the little entourage.

"Sh-Shut up!" The key issues guy blushed furiously, keeping his head facing forward. He hated these kids, he really did.

Nami sighed with mild satisfaction. These guys didn't appear to be cold-hearted killers, just your 'Average Joe's' who were trying to make a living, regardless of the fact that they'd kept Nami and the boys as prisoners. She noticed that they were incredibly clean and smelt slightly of rubbing alcohol – perhaps they were doctors? Scientists? But why would they need a prison if they were simply scientists or whatever? They came to the top of the flight of stairs where two elevators sat, patiently waiting for anyone who happened to have one of the required card keys. The main guy swiped his card and waited a moment before the elevator on the left opened. Nami, Usopp, Chopper, and Luffy were shoved into it and one of the assistants stepped inside with them, pressed a special button that was not found in most elevators, and quickly stepped back out. Nami heard him start to complain about the inconvenient elevator system, but the doors cut him off.

"Usopp. I have a bad feeling about this."

"Yeah." The elevator wasn't moving. Even if it was, they couldn't tell. Suddenly the ceiling opened and four showerheads lowered into the elevator and a pinkish gas was sprayed into the confining room.

"KYAAAH," Usopp and Nami cried simultaneously, "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING OOO—?" They would've finished their cry, but the pink gas had knocked them out cold. The showerheads disappeared and the elevator shot upwards towards light, towards food and water, and towards danger, or course.

**o()o()o**

That night, Robin was sitting up awake in her crib. She was slowly clenching and unclenching her small, practically useless fingers, trying to work away the strange tingling sensation that ran through them. _'How odd.'_ She thought to herself for the millionth time since the weird neurological phenomenon had begun. She glanced over at the snoring lumps in the bed across the room. Zoro was as sprawled out as he could be, while Sanji had his head comfortably pillowed on Zoro's upper arm, their faces turned towards each other. Robin smiled, but that sent an incredible, cramp-like spasm through her face, making her instantly relax all her muscles. It'd been going on since about dinnertime, but she hadn't bothered expressing her issue to Zoro. She didn't want to cause him any sort of unnecessary stress. The muscles in her thighs suddenly gave a sharp pull and she couldn't help but cry out. She flopped onto her back and tried to keep her breathing steady. She focused on drawing deep breaths and relaxing her muscles, but it seemed that the more she tried the more harsh her muscle spasms became.

"Robin-chan?" Robin turned her head and saw Sanji with his hands clamped around the bars of her crib. He looked incredibly tired, but clearly concerned for her well-being nonetheless. "Are you ok?"

'_Cook-san...'_ Robin was about to speak when another spasm rippled through her body, this time in her back. She couldn't help but start to cry and scream. It was so painful and she didn't understand what was happening. Why was she in pain? What was happening to her body? As soon as her mind took a temporary dip into the world of childhood and ignorance, the spasms seemed to suddenly stop. Robin liked this. When she relapsed, the mysterious pains were gone, but she was still scared and continued to cry. She felt a small, cold hand slowly ran across her forehead and over her tuft of hair. She was still sniveling, but through her tears she saw the blonde boy smile at her. She cooed back, happy with the comforting attention. Sanji removed his arm and climbed up over the bars and into the crib. He carefully picked up the heavy baby and placed her in his lap. She gurgled happily and grabbed the shiny bangs and tugged them, trying to get the soft strands of hair between her gums.

Zoro awoke to giggling and childish singing. He instantly noticed the lack of Sanji and the rest of his thoughts slowly fell into place. He sat up and saw the two children playing in Robin's crib, illuminated by gentle moonlight. Zoro didn't even notice that he had smiled ever so slightly at the picturesque moment, almost not wanting to interrupt it. But as precious as the image was, there was definitely something wrong. So Zoro pulled himself out of bed and went over to the crib. "What are you guys up to?"

Sanji twisted his head around, a huge silly grin on his face"I'm pwayin wiff Wobby-chan!" Sanji looked back at Robin with that big smile on his face. "She was cwryin a lot, but Nii-chan was still sweepin!" Sanji's smile fell and he frowned at Zoro's lack of awareness of Robin's suffering. The two kids's play was interrupted when they both yawned widely for a good long while, almost making Zoro yawn along with them.

Zoro sighed instead. "You guys need to go to bed. Now." Sanji lay Robin back down on the bed and she sighed calmly, slowly returning to her regular frame of mind. Zoro picked Sanji up under his arms and pulled the reluctant boy out of the crib.

"I wanna stay wiff, Wobby-chan! I don' wanna sweep in da bed!"

"You're too big to stay with her. You'd squish Robin in your sleep. Besides, the crib isn't meant for more than one body."

Sanji couldn't argue back and just mumbled through a yawn.

"Right. Bed." Zoro placed the sulking child on his designated half of the bed and walked around to get in on his own side. He pulled up the covers and listened to the quiet of night. Sanji had fallen asleep within seconds, it seemed, but Robin had stayed up for another 15 minutes or so. Zoro could see her spasm and gasp every once in a while, but eventually she calmed down enough to fall asleep.

When morning finally came, Robin awoke feeling incredibly uncomfortable. She moved an arm experimentally and felt the twinge of a horrible cramp in her muscles. She did her deep breathing and waited for the pain to ebb away. When it subsided, she blinked opened her eyes and looked up at the ceiling. However, she wasn't looking at the ceiling, Zoro and Sanji were both looking over the edge of her crib, both looking like they were at a total loss for words.

"Wobby-chan?" Sanji asked tentatively, looking almost scared.

Zoro also looked like slightly perturbed with what he was seeing. "Robin? Are you...feeling alright?"

* * *

**Author's Note**

Amazingly, I don't have much to say, except that this was a very short chapter, but I just couldn't bear to write any more X.X My writer's block is sooo bad!

Sorry!

-PD


	13. People Change

**Chapter 12: People Change**

Robin slowly moved her arm up to her face to at rub her sleepy eyes. Wait...what was this? Her hands were much bigger than they had been when she'd gone to bed. Her fingers were much more dexterous and were nowhere near as infuriatingly incompetent as the small lumps of clay they used to resemble. She sat up with ease, her muscles doing all the work for her, though they were cramped from being packed into such a small space. How strange: the crib had been the right size the night before...Robin's sleepy mind finally caught up with her and she realized what it was that had happened.

She'd grown!

Robin was at least several years older than she'd been when she'd gone to bed. She now possessed the body of what she assumed to be a three year old's, just like Sanji.

"Wobby-chan!" Sanji cried, "You'we da same sise as me!"

Robin looked at her hands again, then down her small body to her feet. The shirt she'd been wearing was much too small and had most likely been the main cause for the cut off of circulation to her arms, but Robin was so confused by what'd happened that she didn't give it a second thought. She brought her hands to her hair and could feel that it had grown out into a long pixie cut. "How odd." She mumbled.

"Why're you changing back already? Aren't you supposed to take some antidote before you change?" Zoro asked, feeling somewhat relieved that at least _something_ was on its way back to being normal.

"Well, that's what the doctor told us, but now I'm not so sure. However, I would certainly appreciate a change in clothing as the ones I'm wearing are hardly appropriate."

"Ah, yeah. Sure." Zoro got up and went out of the room to go grab Robin some new clothes from the dresser, leaving the two children alone in the room.

"Hey, Robin-chan," Sanji said, seemingly back to normal for the time being, "why do you think you've started to change back? I mean, I certainly haven't. If anything I'm getting worse." He sighed and sat down on the floor in front of Robin's crib, a thoughtful frown on his childishly round face. "But it seems like your body is winning that battle against the fountain of youth's effects." Sanji reasoned.

"Battle?"

"Yeah," Sanji explained "the one between the "good" and the "evil" in your body, like the doctor said."

Robin listened to what Sanji was saying intently. He certainly had a point, but she hadn't been aware that Sanji had reverted back to his old self at any point during the sessions with the doctor. Her thoughts were interrupted when Zoro came back in the room. "Sorry Robin, they only have boy's clothes in your size." He walked up next to the crib and looked in, studying her a moment before sighing. "If you keep growing like this we're gonna have to go shopping." He said with a small, resigned smile. He had returned with new underwear, brown shorts, and a plain, green t-shirt. Even though Robin was embarrassed, unreasonably so her inner self argued, over the fact that Zoro was touching what she was going to be wearing as underwear, he didn't seem at all bothered by it. Sanji believed that it was his duty to call Zoro out on the issue.

"Baka Marimo! Don't touch Robin's panties!"

"Why do you only ever revert back when it's convenient for you?" Zoro shouted down at little three-year-old Sanji.

"Quit looking down at me!"

"I can't _help_ but look down at you! You've got more age on you than height!"

"That makes no sense!"

Robin sighed. She really wasn't in the mood to deal with their arguing. She wanted to get changed and figure out what the hell was going on, but these two buffoons were too absorbed in their pointless, and very petty, argument.

"It makes perfect sense! You're three years old and less than three feet tall! More age than height! Stupid, baby cook!" Sanji recoiled and his eyes watered up, holding his balled up fists to his chest. His eyes read fear and betrayal. "God...dammit you're so annoying." Zoro crouched down and motioned for Sanji to come close. Sanji obeyed, hesitant for only a moment before falling into the mothering embrace. "I didn't mean to yell, Sanji, I'm sorry. Don't worry, I'm not angry, I'm just frustrated." He slowly ran his hand through Sanji's hair comfortingly as he reassured the startled child, who had, once again, reverted back when it was most inconvenient for Zoro.

"Don' hate me Zowro. I wuv you!" Sanji clung around Zoro's stomach. The swordsman sighed and rolled his eyes, patting the head of the small child and reluctantly reciprocating the words of endearment.

"Well, it's wonderful that you've managed to get back on good terms, but I really would like to change clothes now." Robin said, an edge in her voice that, at her given age, made her sound like a brat instead of the elegant yet firm lady she normally sounded like.

"Yeah, alright Robin." Zoro let go of Sanji and turned to face the little girl. Robin stole a glance at the blonde boy and noticed a peculiar look in his eyes. It was for only a second, as Zoro's muscular frame soon blocked the young chef from view, but Robin noticed it all the same. "Lift your arms." Zoro instructed.

Robin's eyes widened and then narrowed with distaste. She wasn't about to strip in front of Zoro, who did he think he was? "I can do it, myself!" She blushed at the incredibly childish statement, but didn't avert her eyes, though her face fell into a slight pout.

Zoro sighed, "Alright, Sanji and I will leave the room while you get changed." He reached into Robin's crib and pulled her out, placing her on the floor. "If you need any help, just call me."

"That won't be necessary, thank you." Robin replied as she took hold of the new clothes, placing them on the bed. Zoro took this as his queue to leave. He picked Sanji up and left the room, leaving Robin to change by herself. It was only a couple minutes later that he was called back inside by a muffled and seemingly frustrated voice.

"Robin? Are you ok?" He asked, slowly opening the door. He looked down to see that Robin was on the floor wriggling about like a fish out of water. She'd gotten stuck while trying to take off the incredibly tight shirt.

"It..." She mumbled embarrassedly, "it would appear that I would require your assistance."

Seeming not to mind in the least, Zoro bent down and ripped the fabric of the shirt before slipping it off Robin's tiny frame. Robin stood up and folded her arms across her chest. "Arms up." He instructed. He didn't think anything of it as he grabbed the shirt, preparing to dress Robin for the day. It took Robin a moment, but she eventually gave in and lifted her arms, allowing the shirt to slip on over her head, restoring her childish modesty. Besides, it wasn't as if she had breasts yet, but it was still embarrassing for her. Zoro was happy to see that she was already wearing the underwear, but didn't mind helping her into the pair of brown shorts.

Robin, horribly embarrassed, but still maintaining her proud stance, closed her eyes and looked away from Zoro, blushing madly. "Th-Thank you, Kenshi-san."

"It's fine. Its what I'm here for." He smiled and patted her head gently, ruffling the dark hair a bit before turning to leave the room.

Robin looked up at the back of swordsman as he left, her big blue eyes wide. She smiled shyly and was secretly happy how, even if just for a moment, she could enjoy being treated so kindly by her temporary father.

**o()o()o**

Usopp was roused from his drug induced slumber by bright lights being shined almost directly into his face. After having been locked away in the cells for so long, any amount of light burned his eyes. He shielded his face and blinked away all the tears until they were gone and he'd grown accustomed. He looked at his surroundings and saw that he had been encased in a sort of giant test tube with an open top. If he could jump high enough, he'd be home free. He looked around the room. It appeared to be a sort of science lab, and if he related that fact to his current enclosure, he'd guess that he was the experiment.

None of the others were in the same room that he was, which caused a great amount of concern for the sniper. Since there wasn't anyone currently in the room, Usopp felt that it was safe enough to try and make an escape. He pressed his back against one side of the tube and his feet against the other, shinnying his way up slowly, but steadily. He climbed over the lip and dropped down. So far so good.

Suddenly, Nami burst in from the adjacent room, the swinging doors banged noisily as she burst through them. "Usopp!" She cried.

"Nami! Where'd you come from?"

"Just a couple rooms down. Hurry! They know I've escaped. We have to find Luffy and Chopper, grab our stuff, and get out of here." She grabbed his hand and pulled him through another set of doors.

"Wait, wait, wait! How do you know where you're going?" Usopp questioned, having absolutely no idea where he was.

"I nabbed this." She showed him an emergency exit map and he grinned along with her. "My guess is that Luffy and Chopper are here." She pointed to an area with thick walls that indicated high security.

"I'll bet they'll be breaking out any moment." Usopp assured.

As if on queue, an alarm began to sound, startling the sniper and navigator equally. A loud boom could be heard over the blaring of the alarm, and Usopp and Nami were positive that it was their impulsive captain, drawing attention to himself yet again.

Luffy came bursting out, not through a door, but through the wall of the hallway, about 50 feet away from where Nami and Usopp were, Chopper right behind him. They could see that he had Usopp's bag and Nami's clima tact firmly gripped in his arms. How he had gotten hold of them they didn't know. He turned his head and, when he saw them, a huge smile breaking out on his face.

"Nami! Usopp!" Luffy and Chopper began running in their direction. "I found our stuff! It was in that weird room where me and Chopper were!" Luffy called, running towards them. Usopp and Nami were relieved for all of about a second, until they saw a mass of security guards and scientists running after them.

"LOSE THEM FIRST, YOU IDIOT!" Nami and Usopp shouted as they ran the other way, looking for an exit.

"Gas them! _Gas __them_!" Several of the scientists shouted.

'_Gas...?__'_ Nami looked up and saw the ceiling open to reveal shower heads all down the hallway. A pink mist exploded from them, and Nami and Usopp were instantly encased in it.

It was more of a mist that a gas really, and Usopp could feel it on his skin, permeating it. Usopp covered his mouth, trying to prevent the gas from getting in, but he could feel it weakening him. He couldn't help but begin to cough as the gas filled his lungs. He was soon down on all fours. _'__Shit,__ we__'__re __going __to__ get __captured__ again...__'_ He looked up and saw Just when Usopp had almost given up hope of a successfully escape, he felt Chopper's muzzle against his back. Before he knew what was going on, he was nestled comfortably on Choppers back. He opened his eyes for a moment and saw the walls of the building rushing by, but sweet unconsciousness soon overtook him.

**o()o()o**

"—ling salts to wake him." Something foul wafted past Usopp's nose. He sat up immediately, coughing when the smell of the restorative seemed to burn the insides of his lungs. He looked at Chopper who was standing next to him, though Usopp found it odd that he had to look up to the chibi reindeer. "Oh good, you're awake." Chopper smiled. "Guys, he's awake!"

Nami suddenly popped into Usopp's field of vision, but she was only a little bit bigger than Chopper. Odd. "You're so useless, Usopp!" She said in a high-pitched, whiny voice. "Chopper had to carry all three of us, you know?" She continued to scold, but all Usopp could notice was the fact that she look and sounded so small.

"Nami, why are you so tiny?" He was shocked at the sound of his own voice and promptly covered his mouth with his own, tiny hands.

Luffy soon joined in, standing next to Nami and at about the same height as her. "Duh, Usopp," Luffy said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "we're kids again!"

It was more than the childish heart could take, and Usopp promptly passed out again.

* * *

**Author's Note**

Whoooo~ been a while, huh? Well. This one's next on the list for completion :D

-PD


	14. All Together Now

**Chapter 13: All Together Now**

Once Usopp had awoken again, the four of them sat in a circle debating what had happened. Usopp and Nami had been de-aged to only about a year old. Luffy had been reduced to a 5 year old.

Usopp's eyes were big and round, yet his nose remained disproportionately large in comparison to his round face. There was a mass of curls protruding from his head, much bigger and looser than they would be when he got older. Nami's eyes were also big and round, a darker shade of brown than the reddish cinnamon they would one day become. Her hair was short and fluffy, a little messy mop of orange that sat atop her round head. Luffy looked much the same as he always did, aside from his much larger eyes and only slightly shorter hair.

"So that whole facility has been studying de-aging potions or something?" Usopp asked, looking around the circle for answers.

Chopper nodded, "And they were using us as their test subjects. Comparing the effects on devil fruit users versus regular people. That's why they were taking Luffy up. They were testing the de-aging effects on his body by injecting it into his system. However, it would appear that more natural absorptions such when someone ingests it is much more effective. The misting should only be temporary. When Luffy would get injected with a minimal dosage, his change always lasted only about 10-12 hours. When misted, it lasts only about 5." Chopper explained.

"Why hasn't it affected you, Chopper?" Nami asked the seemingly unchanged reindeer.

"I suppose my fur protected me, but there's a chance I could still absorb it once it seeps through my fur and to my skin."

"Well, what do we do now?" Luffy whined, "I don't wanna be like this forever!" He sat down and pouted, folding his arms across his chest.

"I think it'd be best if we tried to find Zoro and the others before we do anything else. Maybe they've had a run in with this whole de-aging thing, too. Maybe Robin or Sanji-kun know something we don't." Nami reasoned, looking to Usopp for support of her idea.

"Sounds like a good idea. Can we get a ride again, Chopper? We'd make better time than if we tried to walk." Usopp stood up and looked down at his tiny legs.

So the four of them climbed on Chopper's back and he galloped off through the woods, following the smell of what he figured to be the nearest town.

As they went, Chopper could feel the damp moisture of the mist from earlier seeping through his coat and onto his skin. _'Crap!'_ Chopper felt his body lurch as a few years were knocked off. His legs became shorter, his antlers smaller, and his body weaker. It was marginally more difficult to carry all three of his nakama who had all fallen asleep nestled together on his back. _'I have to make it to the town!'_ Chopper tried to pick up his pace, but his legs were unable to move any faster.

Nami was the first to awake. "Chopper? Are you alright?" She adjusted herself from where she was leaning against Usopp.

"The aging potion has started to affect me, but I want to get closer to the town before I'm de-aged." He explained as he shrunk a little more. The three toddlers were becoming more and more difficult to support.

"Chopper, if we're close, we can just walk." Usopp offered, not wanting to burden their doctor.

"Thanks, it'd be much appreci—" Chopper shrunk a final time, now the size he was when he was a fawn. Nami, Luffy, and Usopp lurched forward and fell to the ground. Nami and Usopp blinked a moment before they burst into tears, complaining about the pain in their scraped knees and the scary fall they'd just endured. Luffy looked at them like they had a screw loose.

"What's the matter with you guys? O-Oi!" He looked over at Chopper, "Chopper, what's going on?"

Chopper's ears fell as he looked around at his Nakama. He stood up on his thin, wobbly legs. "They're going through a sort of relapse. They're minds have temporarily reset to the age that their bodies have been de-aged to." His hat slipped over his eyes, covering his vision. He stumbled a bit on his wobbly legs and let out a surprised little bleat.

"Seriously? That's gonna be a pain..." Luffy muttered, adjusting the oversized hat on his head. His vest was more like a tunic, and he was struggling to keep his shorts, that had become a pair of incredibly baggy pants, on his new body. Nami and Usopp were in much the same state. Nami was only in her tank top, which looked kind of like a summer dress, and Usopp had thankfully donned a t-shirt beneath his overalls that day and was covered by that.

Chopper did his best to shift his hat without the use of his no longer existent hands. "We should probably keep heading for town. We need to get out of here before our minds regress to the point where we won't be able to find our way."

"Alright. Luffy picked Nami up and held her the way he remembered Makino would do for him when he was a child. "Can you carry Usopp?"

"Sure!"

Luffy picked Usopp up and placed him on Choppers back. Chopper wobbled for a bit, but he eventually got control of his legs. "Yosh!" Luffy cried, "Let's go!"

**o()o()o**

Zoro, Robin, and Sanji were out and about grocery shopping. They had grown low on the dried foodstuffs, and figured a day out and about wouldn't be all that bad. Sanji was walking quite a bit better not that his foot nearly healed. They had all agreed that they wouldn't be going back to see that doctor, and that they could simply cut off Sanji's cast when the time came.

Robin was grateful for her growth spurt. She no longer had to rely on Zoro to carry her around anymore, though she hadn't really minded the free ride. She was walking on Zoro's right side, Sanji on his left as they strolled through the market place.

Suddenly, through the crowd, a very familiar voice could be heard. "Oooiii! Zoooroooo!" Zoro's head snapped up as he looked around. He could've sworn he'd heard his name.

"Zoro! Over here!"

"Zorooo!"

Zoro whipped his head around until his eyes finally landed on the faces of his chibi-fied crew. Luffy had Nami on his back and Chopper was shakily walking with Usopp on his. Luffy was smiling broadly and ran up to meet his Nakama.

"Woah! Robin! Sanji! You guys are little too!" Luffy exclaimed as he came to a halt.

"Sencho-san!" Robin ginned, though she was surprised to be looking up at Luffy's 5-year-old body. "And Navigator-san, and Doctor-san, and Nagahana-kun. It's certainly a pleasure to see you guys again."

Nami and Usopp got down from their perches and looked up at the only adult Strawhat. "Woah, Zoro! How come you're the only one who's not tiny?" Usopp asked before toppling from Chopper back onto the ground as ungraciously as he could manage.

"A stroke of bad luck, I guess." He muttered, running a hand through his hair. "It's gonna be a pain in the ass when you all relapse without anyone to help me." He muttered. "Though the real question is where the hell have you been this past week?"

"We were locked up in some weird prison thing, but we were the only prisoners." Nami explained, "And then we got taken upstairs into a sort of laboratory. It turns out they were using us as test subjects for a de-aging potion." She frowned, irritation furrowing her brow. "The nerve of some people! Using adorable little me as a test subject."

"That's terrible Nami-san!" Sanji wailed, conveniently back to normal for the moment.

"But we escaped!" Usopp continued grandiosely, "As we were trying to get away, they sprayed us with this weird mist, which turned out to be one of their de-aging techniques. Luffy, Nami, and I all de-aged close to immediately after, but it took Chopper a lot longer cause his fur protected him for a while."

"Where have you guys been?" Chopper asked, trying, once again, to readjust his hat.

Zoro leaned down and shifted the big pink hat back on the much smaller head. "We've been staying at this little house just outside of town. It's only got one bedroom and a loft, though. It'll be tough getting you all to fit..."

"Well, we've got enough food to get by for a while, so lets get you all back to the house." He scooped up Nami and Usopp and held one in each arm, the groceries hanging from his elbows.

"Z-Zoro!" Nami blushed, pounding at Zoro's chest and demanding she be let down. This was horribly embarrassing.

"Just shut up and let me carry you. It's faster that way."

"Zoro, you look like a mom." Luffy teased from where he was walking next to the swordsman, a brooding Sanji on the other side.

"Should I call you Okaasan now?" Usopp joked, snickering and high-fiving a chuckling Nami.

"Shut up, or I drop you." Zoro threatened with a completely straight face, the maliciousness accentuated by his apparent lack of concern for the outcome.

Usopp, knowing he wouldn't hold true to his threat, kept on chuckling, "Okay, Okaasan~"

"Nooo!" Sanji whined from Luffy's other side, a jealous pout on his face. "Zowro is _mine!_ You can' have him!" Sanji ran over to go stand in front of Zoro's lifting his arms up towards his guardian. "Up! Pick me up, too, Zowro! Carry me!" He demanded, pulling on Zoro's pant leg a bit.

Zoro sighed, deep and heavy. "Sanji, I can't carry Usopp, Nami, _and_ you. You're a big boy, you can walk."

"Noo!" Sanji whined, "Carry me on youwr showdahs!"

"You'll kick Nami with your cast if you do that. You wouldn't want to do that, would you Sanji?"

Sanji frowned, eyebrow creased and lips pouty. "I di'int want a li'l bwover or sister. I wanna just be you, me, n Wobin! Pweeeease! Carry meee! I don' wanna waaalk!" He complained, pulling a little harder on Zoro's pants.

"Sanji, Sanji, don't pull!" Zoro warned, keeping his voice stern. He certainly didn't want to lose his plants in the market place.

"Jeez, Sanji, what's gotten into you? You're acting like a brat!" Luffy joked, laughing at how funny Sanji was acting.

"Shut up, Asshowle!"

"Cook-san, watch your mouth." Robin scolded. She normally wouldn't have minded, but this was a 3-year-old child saying these things.

"Sowwy..." He muttered. "Zowrooo~" He whined, nearly at the point of giving up on his demand.

"No, Sanji."

Sanji glared up at the intrusive new children taking his spot in Zoro's arms. How come they got to be carried and Sanji didn't? Sanji was there first, it was his right as the eldest...well, he wasn't the eldest anymore, but it was his right to be Zoro's top priority. How dare these other children monopolize his nii-chan's attention. Can't they see he has a broken foot? He deserves the attention, not these two. Regardless, he walked beside Robin, sulking the whole walk home.

"Sanji's acting really weird..." Usopp muttered. "It's like he really is 3 years old."

"That's what happens when he relapses." Zoro explained. It was a foreign feeling to the swordsman to be the one who'd have to explain things. "He's been like that a week, so his relapses are quite a bit longer and annoyingly frequent. Have you guys relapsed yet?"

Nami and Usopp looked at each other before turning to look back up at Zoro. "Yeah, once." Nami answered. "It was really weird. I felt like I was a baby again. All my rational thoughts completely disappeared and my memory of my future was completely blanked out. When I came to, I was like I had just woken up from a dream."

"It was really strange." Usopp agreed. "I think it was triggered by that fall. Like shocks to our system are what makes us relapse. I don't know about Sanji's case, but that's what happened with us."

Zoro's brow knit as he thought about what he was being told. His brain hurt. Why'd he have to be responsible for putting this whole mess together? There were more puzzle pieces that had to be fit together than he wanted there to be. But now with Nami and Usopp's explanations, the more he thought about it, Robin had been much the same way, having always remembered what went on during her relapses once they were over. Why was Sanji so different?

"Wait...you remember everything that happened during your relapses?" Zoro asked Nami and Usopp. They weren't devil fruit users like Robin was. Maybe their experiences would be more similar to Sanji's.

"Yeah, I remember mine. How bout you, Usopp?"

"Ah, yeah. I mean, to an extent. I wasn't really thinking in words, it was more just pictures and emotions I remember experiencing."

"Why don't we talk about this more at the house" Robin suggested. "I'm sure there are many questions that deserve answers."

**o()o()o**

Everyone was sitting in a circle on the living room floor, the only place that had adequate space for a group conversation. They were taking turns exchanging detailed recounts of their past week, helping bring a bit of light to the situation, tough there was quite a bit of disappointment from Nami and Usopp.

"Whaaaat?" They cried in near perfect unison. "We're gonna be stuck like this?"

"Until we find the antidote, yes." Robin clarified, "The doctor told us as much."

"How come you, Chopper, and Luffy get to change back without it?" Usopp questioned, pouting at how unfair it all was.

"Because, people the bodies of devil's fruit users sort of wage an internal battle against the fountain of youth's effects. The devils fruit, representing evil or some such, repels the pure of the de-aging." Robin clarified, drawing a low mutter of general understanding from those where were previously ignorant."

"So the rest of us need an antidote, right? Where can we get that?" Nami had a hard time believing that a solution to their problems would be easily recovered. Nothing was ever easy when it came to them,

"It can be found on this island's sister island. Would you happen to know where that is, Navigator-san?"

Nami crossed her chubby little arms and thought for a moment. "Well, I don't have any of my maps, so I can't tell you for certain, but I believe that this island and its sister are connected by a strip of land a couple meters beneath the surface, oftentimes getting run into by large ships who are unaware of its presence. Luckily, the Merry was small enough to be able to go over that ridge without a problem, but...it was sank only shortly after..." Everyone fell into a solemn silence. "But if we could find some way to follow that underground trench, we'd be able to find the sister island."

"Something else the doctor mentioned was that there was a traveling lab, I'm assuming this is the one you four were trapped in, that also supplies the antidote. While I'm pleased to hear that this lab we've heard about has finally docked, I'm not one to believe acquiring it from there would be the best option, given our current standings." Robin had a hand on her chin as she thought. "Since the two islands are connected, I doubt a log post would serve as much use, considering the two islands will have the same pull. However, there may be a way to navigate there ourselves. Though how we would do so is still a mystery."

"Ahhh this is soo boring~!" Luffy whined, rolling over onto his back. "And I'm hungry! I wanna eat dinner~!" He complained, flailing his limbs about to demonstrate his frustration.

"Well, Sanji can't make us food, so I'm afraid I'm the one responsible for feeding us for the time being." Zoro was none too enthused by the idea. Quite frankly, no one else was either, but they didn't really have any other options at the moment.

It came as a major surprise to the 4 who had never sampled Zoro's cooking when the food Zoro served had been edible; more so than they had originally feared. After dinner came the issue of where everyone was to sleep.

"Imma sweep wiff Zowro!" Sanji insisted, hugging tightly to Zoro's leg as he stated his claim.

"Yeah, yeah." Zoro agreed, picking up the kid. Sanji giggled and pressed his hands to Zoro's face, smooshing his cheeks and giggling at the silly face his Nii-chan was making. Zoro smirked and began to tickle Sanji's stomach, making the blonde laugh and squirm in his arms. It seemed they'd forgotten for a moment that there was anyone else in the room.

Everyone, except Robin of course, being used to such a sight, openly stared at the two who they had always perceived as being cutthroat enemies. "Err...Zoro?" Usopp tentatively piped from where he sat on the floor, "What are you doing?"

Zoro frowned down at his tiny Nakama, embarrassed by his behavior towards Sanji. He remembered when Robin had been that small and a fond smile threatened to break out on his face. He managed to quell it. "It's different when he relapses." He explained curtly. He placed Sanji back on the ground gently. "Go change into your pajamas." He instructed.

"Kaaay~" Sanji scampered off to do just that.

"Alright," Zoro looked at his recently de-aged friends, "where are you guys gonna sleep?"

"Kenshi-san, I'd be alright with sleeping in the loft. Perhaps Sencho-san could join me up there. Then Nagahana-kun and Navigator-san could sleep in the crib together. Is that a plausible suggestion?"

Zoro internally thanked her for solving his problem for him. "Yeah, that'll work." He glanced at the clock. Well, it's late. I'll go grab some pajamas for you guys. You probably want out of those oversized clothes." He mumbled before heading off to the bathroom where all the children's clothes were kept.

"Zoro seemed..." The chibi sniper put a pudgy hand to his chin in thought, trying to think of an appropriate description for Zoro's unusual behavior.

"Different?" Nami supplied helpfully.

"That's one way to put it. I mean, who would've ever thought Zoro could be so..."

"So motherly?" A small chuckled escaped the navigator.

"You know, you could've at least said fatherly."

"I know, but motherly was funnier."

Zoro returned with 2 onesies for the tiny tots and a shirt and shorts for Luffy. "Oh, hey, Chopper, where are you gonna sleep?"

"I can just curl up on the floor. It's perfectly comfortable when I'm in my current form." He assured.

"If you're sure." Zoro picked Nami and Usopp up. "Alright, lets get you changed." There was much protest and kicking and screaming until Usopp and Nami, Nami was especially against the idea of getting changed by her male crewmate; they were placed inside the crib together. They were firmly against it at first, but eventually, the two succumbed to sleep, having spent little of the past week sleeping restfully.

Zoro went up to the loft to confirm that Luffy and Robin were safely tucked away and that they wouldn't roll out of the loft in the middle of the night. After making all the rounds, Zoro was finally able to flop down in his bed, Sanji already comfortably nestled smack dab in the middle. How considerate. He gently pushed Sanji over onto his side of the bed before climbing in, getting comfortable beneath the sheets

Just as the exhausted mommy marimo was about to close his eyes, there was a gentle wail from down the hall. Zoro's eyes shot open. _'No, not now. Why now? Why, why, why?'_ He quickly got out of bed and hurried to the loft. Robin was kneeling at the edge, holding onto the ladder supports. "Nii-saaaan..." She cried. "I'm scaaaared." She sniffled, fat tears rolling down her face as she cried. Zoro had to give her credit for being a quiet crier.

"Jeez, I should've known better than to make you guys sleep in the loft..." He muttered, thinking back to when he'd forced Sanji to endure the same torture. "You're going to have to be quiet now, I can't have you waking Luffy."

"Nii-san, can I sleep with you?" She asked, wiping away her tears away from her big blue eyes. "I don't want to sleep up here anymore..." She hiccupped as a gentle cry slipped past her trembling lips.

"Yeah, yeah sure. Come here." He held up his arms for Robin to jump into. She did so without hesitating. "Gotchya." He ran a hand over her short black hair. "You're okay now." She nuzzled into his chest as he carried her back to his room. He sat down on the bed, still holding her as he scooched to the center of the bed. He placed Robin on his left side as Sanji peacefully slept on his right. Zoro lay back and pulled the covers over the three-year-old girl before settling back in. He closed his eyes and was ever so close to dreamland when his door swung open, a very displeased boy standing in the doorway.

"Jerk!" He bellowed, sniffling as he voice became uneven with distress. "You left me all alone up there, Robin!" Zoro detected that a fit would most definitely been within their imminent future. A mass regression, crying fit was the last thing he needed right now.

"It's alright, Luffy, come sleep here with me." He ushered the boy over with the wave of his hand.

"No! I'm a big, brave boy! I'm almost a grown up! I don't need you!" He argued, the volume of his voice still too high for Zoro's liking.

Zoro thought about how to play into this. "You know, Robin was scared earlier. Why don't you come over here and sleep next to her. Someone has to protect her, right?" His taunt seemed to work, because Luffy sucked in a breath, keeping his tears at bay as he strutted over, plopping himself down in the bed and curling up, sniffling to himself a bit. Zoro reached over and gently patted Luffy's head, running his fingers through the dark hair soothingly. "That was very brave of you." He encouraged.

Luffy took one more mighty sniff before chuckling a bit, a wide grin on his face. "I guess I'll have to protect you too, Zoro!"

"Oh, and why's that?"

"Because," Luffy said as he yawned widely, "you're my only kaasan! And you think the loft is scary!" He laughed gently again at the thought of his guardian being afraid of the loft, even though it really was quite spooky and there was a gross spider in it. Luffy was snoring only seconds later and Zoro couldn't help but smile. Maybe playing big brother for a few more crewmates wouldn't be as bad as he thought. He already had the basics down, how hard could it be?

Famous last words.


	15. A Very Merry Incident

**Chapter 14: A Very Merry Incident**

The next morning was absolute chaos.

"Luffy, you put Usopp down! He's not a toy! Be careful don't dro—shit!" Zoro ran over and picked up a screaming Usopp, cradling him in his arms as he wailed. "Luffy, you have to be very, _very,_ careful with them! You can't drop kids like that; they could get hurt very easily. Do you understand?"

"But he's fiiiine~" Luffy argued, not seeing the fault in his actions.

"Zowro! Zowro! Pway wiff me, pway wiff MEEE~" Sanji whined as he clung to Zoro's leg, sitting on his foot.

"Sanji, I'm trying to make breakfast. Go into the living room and play with Robin and Chopper. Luffy, you go too." Zoro instructed as he went back to the stove, stirring the hash browns so they didn't burn.

"I don' wannaaa~ Zowroooo, I wanna pway wiff yoouuuu!" The tiny blonde was determined to get his way.

Zoro gave an exasperated sigh, clearly at the end of his rope. "Luffy, I need you to be the big brother and take Sanji to go play with the others, alright?"

Luffy nodded, pleased that a task of such great importance was presented upon him. He was thrilled at the idea that he would get to act as the older brother. "Kay! C'mon Sanji! Let's go!" He leaned down and pried Sanji off of Zoro's leg with great difficulty. He carried Sanji under his arms, the little guy kicking and screaming as he was carried away.

"Hungy! Hungy!" Nami chanted from where she sat in the high chair. "Hungy, hungy, hung-GYYYYY!" Her normally pale face was beginning to turn red as she continued screaming for food.

"Be patient, Nami, just a little bit more..." It was hard to cook while pacifying a distressed Usopp who had just endured a terrifying fall, and Zoro had thought that a fully-grown Usopp had been bad. "C'mon Usopp, you're okay, it's okay. Pleeease stop crying." He patted Usopp's back gently, bouncing as he walked around the kitchen. Despite his best efforts, Usopp wasn't easily consoled and continued screaming. "Come on...Usopp, it's okay. Please calm down. Shh, shh, it's okay, it's okay." He continued shushing as he paced around the room, taking time to stir the hash browns as they fried. He went to the fridge and pulled out the bacon, tossing it on the counter before grabbing the carton of eggs. He felt a tug at his pant leg and turned to see Robin standing beside him. "What is it?"

"I can take Nagahana-kun, if you'd like." Robin extended her arms, reaching for the child in Zoro's arms.

Zoro couldn't quite tell if Robin was regressed or in her right frame of mind, but he trusted her enough to be capable of handling the child regardless. He lowered Usopp's flailing body down and Robin wrapped her arms around his chest, hauling him off into the living room. Zoro watched until she was out of sight before he went back to cooking, but he still felt a little bit of unease settle into his system. He laid the bacon in the pan before going to take a peek into the living room.

Robin was sitting cross-legged on the floor across from Chopper who was being petted and hugged by a now laughing Usopp. Sanji and Luffy were entertaining themselves with a game of chase, Luffy seeming to have gone back to his regular frame of mind and simply humoring the young cook as the gimpy blonde chased after him. Zoro smiled and went back into the kitchen, walking over to Nami and picking her up from the high chair.

"Wanna wait with the others in the living room, Nami?" He cooed, holding her close and poking her chubby cheeks.

She giggled before reaching up and grabbing hold of his shiny gold earrings.

"Ow, ow, Nami, don't pull. Be gentle." He warned, trying to pry her fingers off.

"Nami!"

"No, Nami, you can't have those." He pulled her hands off, despite her whined protests. Zoro sensed that she would start crying soon so he hurried back to the kids. "Hey guys, ok, who isn't regressing at the moment."

"Nagahana-kun and Cook-san are the only ones still regressing." Robin assured, standing up and walking over to Zoro. "Is Navigator-san also..."

"Yeah." Zoro started to lower Nami down into Robin's arms when Luffy ran over.

"I can take her, I can take her!" He insisted, still sounding like a 5-year-old regardless of whether he was regressed or not.

"Luffy, you just dropped Usopp a couple minutes ago. I'm not letting you hold Nami."

"Please! Please, Zoro!" Luffy insisted, pouting a bit. "I won't hurt my nakama again! I puh-_romise!_"

Zoro didn't have time to argue with Luffy; the bacon would burn. "Alright, but please be careful with her." He placed Nami in his arms and gave Robin a pointed look to make sure nothing happened before returning to the kitchen.

Sanji frowned at Zoro's back as he left. The green-haired man hadn't paid him even the slightest bit of attention. He stood up and stalked after Zoro in a bit of a huff.

"Cook-san, where are you going?" Robin asked as she tried to keep Usopp from tugging too hard at Chopper's ears.

"The kitchen." He said. Robin figured he was back to normal for the time being, so perhaps he was going to help with breakfast, though he had stopped helping a couple days ago because of his relapses. Robin was indeed curious to find out what was going to happen. She'd sprout an ear on Sanji, but she figured Zoro would notice all too easily. Picking Usopp up off Chopper, she went to go spy, hoping her nakama would keep his mouth shut.

In the kitchen, Sanji had apparently regressed again and was badgering Zoro for attention, much to the annoyance of the swordsman who was simply trying to provide them with their morning meal.

"Sanji, I can't deal with you right now! I have to make breakfast for everyone. Go back into the living room."

"Nii-chaaan, pweeease! Just lemme help! I'm a good help-uh! I wanna be wiff my nii-chan!" Sanji asserted, stomping a foot a bit before going over to grab one of the chairs, planning on dragging it over so he could see the counter too.

"Sanji, if you want to help me, you'll go back into the living room, and you'll leave me alone." Zoro beat together an entire carton of eggs before removing the entire package of bacon from the frying pan, removing the excess grease before adding another bundle of bacon. "I have a lot of food to make, I need to focus." He tested a piece of the hash browns; they were still a bit crunchy.

Sanji stood silent for a moment, dropping the chair back onto all four of its legs before he began to wail. Zoro used every shred of patience he had not to throw the bowl to the ground and simply stomp out of the house. He opted to just put the bowl down angrily, sloshing the egg about. He turned and looked down at Sanji. _'I'm not letting you get your way by crying again. It's not going to work on me.'_

"Nii-chan doesn't wuv meeee..." He sobbed, bringing his hands up to his face and viciously wiping at the tears that wouldn't stop.

'_...Dammit...'_ Zoro pulled the apron over his head and set it where the counter was clear. "Sanji, it's okay, don't cry. I do too love you." He went over and leaned in to scoop Sanji up in his arms.

"No!" Sanji backed away, tears in his angry eyes. He frowned up at Zoro, lips trembling and tears still streaming. "Lie-uh! You'we a lie-uh, Nii-chan!"

Zoro was completely dumbfounded, looking a little bit like a deer in the headlights. His mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water; had been effectively silenced. "Uh, but, Sanji...I..." Was the child accurate in his accusations? Was it really a lie that he loved Sanji? Hm...well, he certainly didn't love that idiotic cook that swoon over thin waists, wide hips, and big breasts, but he definitely, as a fatherly figure, loved the little blonde child that stood before him.

Zoro crouched down so he was eye level with Sanji, lifting his hands and taking Sanji's soft, little face in his big rough hands. He smiled and looked straight into the big blue eye. His left hand smoothed the stray blonde hairs out of the cherub face. "Sanji, I love you very, very much. Okay? Don't you think otherwise, okay?" He brought Sanji close and planted a kiss on Sanji's forehead before looking into Sanji's face again, trying to assure the child.

Sanji bit his lip and wiped his eyes. "I wuv you mowe." Sanji insisted, sniffling a bit.

Zoro chuckled, familiar with this sort of game. "I don't think you do." He taunted, pinching Sanji's cheeks.

"I do!" The child insisted, pulling away from Zoro's pinching fingers and grabbing Zoro's face and bringing it close. "I wuv you much mowe!"

"I think I love you more." Zoro teased, rubbing their noses together.

"No!" Sanji leaned in and planted a kiss on Zoro's lips. Zoro stiffened, eyes going wide and his body going stiff. "Nii-chan, I _love_ you _more._"

**o()o()o**

"An Oedipus complex perhaps." Robin reasoned as she sat with the swordsman on the couch, staring at the gloomy, slumped form beside her. Zoro hadn't been able to say anything after Sanji had kissed him. The child had pulled away and run off before Zoro could even have the chance. The others were all taking naps on Zoro's bed, Nami and Usopp in the middle to ensure they didn't fall, so they were out of the way as Zoro and Robin talked.

"He was acting weirder than usual." Zoro muttered, "I can't even tell what's going through his head when he's normal, screw this whole relapsing thing. He switches back and forth so often that I can't keep track. The brat's so damn confusing." Zoro mussed his hair in frustration. "I don't need this right now..."

"Well, I'm sure Cook-san is worried about it as well." Robin interjected, "It must have taken a lot of courage for Cook-san to confess. If he was regressed, I'm sure he would realize that feeling that way towards his 'big brother' is wrong, but if he wasn't relapsing...Well, I suppose only Cook-san knows for sure." She smiled at the swordsman. He was frowning, brow creased as he tried to figure out what to make of it all. She wondered if a little enlightenment would help him put the pieces together. "You do realize that there have been many instances where Cook-san was simply pretending to relapse."

Zoro's head snapped up to look at Robin, wide-eyed, the shock clear in his face. "W-What?"

"You can tell by which name he calls you by. He usually calls you Nii-chan when he's faking. At least, that's my best guess."

"...WWWHAT?"

"Oh dear, you had no idea."

"You mean that-that-that...that Sanji acted like that on purpose? And I..." Zoro flushed an awkward red. He was embarrassed that Sanji had been in his right frame of mind when Zoro had babied him, coddled him, had...what if Sanji had been in his right frame of mind when Zoro told him he loved him? Zoro's brain hurt. He needed a bottle of Sake...or a barrel.

"I understand that it's a difficult concept to grasp, Kenshi-san, but please try not to let it bother you too much."

"But-but-but Robin, he _kissed_ me." Zoro insisted, fresh heat leaking onto his face.

"Yes, I understand that." Robin responded as straight-faced as ever. "What I'm saying is that either this is Cook-san's childish side and he has some sort of Oedipus complex, or it was the true Cook-san and he has genuine feelings for you." Robin rested a hand on Zoro's arm. "Just as you love Cook-san's 3-year-old self, though in a familial way, Cook-san has probably fallen for your sweeter, more caring side."

Zoro frowned, "I don't like the idea that he's hiding behind his relapses like that. It'd be better if he were just honest."

"That's easier said than done." Robin smiled, "Don't let it bother you. I'll talk to him, alright?"

Zoro's brow furrowed, not entirely convinced. His face softened up when he heard the first whimpers of a waking child. "I've got to tend to them." Zoro stood up and escaped from the awkward conversation. He didn't like taking advice from a 3-year-old. He didn't care that he was talking with Robin and her 28-year-old brain; it was still weird.

It was Nami that had woken up. She was whimpering, being nearly crushed by the surrounding Nakama. Zoro carefully fished her out of the pile and held her close, waiting until she stopped whimpering. "Hey, hey, it's alright." She stopped whimpering and giggled, reaching for Zoro's earrings again. Zoro brushed off the tiny probing fingers as he looked over all the other children. His eyes fell over Sanji. He had his hands folded over his stomach as he slept. Child Sanji never did that; adult Sanji did, from time to time. Zoro frowned as he left the room, not noticing that the little boy he'd been scrutinizing had sat up and was watching, sadly, as he disappeared out the door.

**o()o()o**

The doctor was sitting in his office, going over the file of his next patient before going in for the examination. Suddenly, a young woman burst into his office, startling the old doctor. "Do you still know that ship salvaging guy?"

The doctor blinked for a few minutes, completely confused. "Er...what?"

"When you were a doctor on that guy's ship. Is he still on the island? Can I talk to him?" She stormed over and slapped her hand down on the doctor's desk. "Akio-san, please!"

"Uh, he should be down by the harbor. Why, is there something wrong with the lab? It hasn't sunk has it? I don't think he'd be able to salvage something that big."

"No, no, no!" The woman assured, "You see, my team sunk an adorable caravel style ship, and I want it salvaged and repaired. It'd be such a cute ship to use when I go from island to island selling my potions~" She swooned, caught up in her plans.

"Oh! So you've finished your research?" The doctor asked excitedly.

"I tested the final product on a couple pirates. It works incredibly well! I wanna use their old ship as a merchant ship. It sunk over the underwater ridge." She explained.

"Well then, you best go see him. I'm sure he can help."

The woman smiled, "Thanks, Akio-san!" She bowed and turned to run out the door. The doctor smiled after her before gathering up his patient's files. "I should let that young man know."

The doctor knocked on Zoro's door a couple of hours later. The swordsman looked more than surprised when he saw the doctor standing in the doorway.

"Ah, good-day, young man."

"...You kicking me out?" He asked, his face completely blank of any real emotion.

"No, no! I've just come to inform you that the ship has docked and the antidote, I'm sure, can be acquired there." He looked down at the little blonde child that was grasping tightly to Zoro and glaring up at the doctor. "Oh, hello young man. I can assume that your foot is better by now, yes? Allow me to remove the cast for you."

"Noo! Zowro, I don' wanna!" He whined, burying his face into Zoro's shoulder. "Make 'im go away!."

Zoro hiked the child up higher on his hip. "Er, yeah, we'll stop by later. Thanks for the heads up." There was a pained cry from inside the house, drawing Zoro's attention away from the doctor. "Sorry, I have to go." Zoro closer the door and hurried to go take care of whatever it was that had happened while he wasn't watching, leaving the doctor in stunned silence on the stoop.

Zoro was surprised when he saw that Chopper was on the floor, shaking with pain. He looked up when he saw Zoro come back, his chest heaving with labored breaths, emitting little pained groans and bleats. Chopper let out an agonized cry before his body began to grow. When he stopped growing, he was back to his chibi form, but he still looked quite a bit younger than usual. His horns were small, and his body was still tiny; like a teddy bear.

"Chopper, you grew!" Zoro exclaimed.

"Yeah!" The little doctor smiled happily. "I'm halfway back to being normal, eh heh!" He rubbed a hoof against the back of his head.

"Really?" Zoro turned to Robin, "That isn't normal, is it?"

"Why do you think you're changing back so quickly, Doctor-san?

"Absorbing it through the skin is less affective than consumption." Chopper explained. "I should be back to normal by tomorrow."

"Well that's great. Do you think you're back to normal enough to remove Sanji's cast?"

Chopper nodded confidently, but he frowned. "I could, but I don't have the tools for it."

"Alright, well, let's get everyone ready. I'm gonna go see that doctor and have him remove the cast." Zoro put Sanji down and scooped Nami and Usopp up.

"Zoro, let me carry Nami!" Luffy begged, tugging at Zoro's haramaki.

"What, do you think I'm stupid! I'm not letting you carry her. Dropping Usopp on the carpet is different from dropping someone on the cobblestone road. I'm not taking that risk."

"Zoro, trust me." Luffy insisted, holding out his arms.

Sighing, Zoro placed Nami on Luffy's shoulders. "Be very, _very,_ careful. Or I'll never let you hold them again, understand?"

"You sound like a real mom, Zoro." Luffy smiled broadly and laughed.

"Yeah, well, when forced into dealing with brats like you for over a week I kinda have to." He patted Luffy's hair. "Now I'm gonna need you to act like the big brother and take good care of her."

Zoro gathered everyone together, carrying Sanji on his shoulders and Usopp in his arms as Luffy, Robin, and Chopper walked along side him. He could feel that he was getting a lot of stares from the town folk. They had seen him with a baby and a young blonde boy only days ago, but now he had four new children along side him. They were growing suspicious.

As the group was walking, Robin looked down towards the water. She saw what looked to be a salvage ship. She couldn't help but wonder what was going on. She'd make sure to check on the walk back.

The other 5 straw hats waited outside the doctor's while Zoro and Sanji were in with the doctor as he removed Sanji's cast, much to the protest of the small blonde. He was screaming at the top of his lungs as the tiny saw cut through his cast.

"ZOWRO! SAVE ME! I DON' WANNA DIIIIE!" Sanji screamed as he started to wiggle about again. He was trying to reach out to Zoro who was sitting in a chair against the wall.

"You can't move, young man, you might get hurt." The doctor warned for the umpteenth time.

"Sanji, please hold still." Zoro stood up and went and held onto Sanji's hands. "You're gonna be okay. He's already half way done." He kissed Sanji's forehead comfortingly, ruffling the blonde hair a bit.

"Nii-chan...Nii-chan..." Sanji pulled Zoro in close, wrapping his arms around the thick, tan neck.

Zoro tensed, thinking back to what Robin had told him earlier. He was unmoving for a moment before he sighed and patted Sanji's head. "Just hold still, and let the doctor do his job, okay?" He pulled away and looked down into Sanji's face, petting his hair a little.

"...Kiss?" Sanji asked shyly, frowning with uncertainty.

Zoro sighed, frowning a bit, but he leaned in and pressed a kiss to Sanji's forehead. "There, now be good."

Sanji smiled brightly and held still for the most part as the doctor finished removing the cast. There was still some remaining bruise spots, though they no longer hurt. Sanji wiggled his toes and rotated his ankle, smiling broadly. "Nii-chan, lookit! Is all bettah!" Sanji wrapped his arms around Zoro's neck, refusing to let go.

"Yes, yes it is, Sanji." Zoro scooped Sanji up off the bed and turned to face the doctor. "Thank you very much for everything." Zoro bowed a bit. This doctor had been very kind to them. He didn't understand why, but he knew how to be grateful. "Sanji say thank you." HE encouraged.

Sanji just glared at the doctor and hugged Zoro closer, not saying anything. Zoro just sighed and walked out of the room.

"Hey! How'd it go?" Nami asked form where she sat on Luffy's lap.

"Everything's alright. We're heading home now." Zoro tried to put Sanji down, but the child held firm. "Sanjiiii," he growled, "let go. Now."

"Nooo..."

"Sanji! Now!"

Sanji flinched at the harshness of Zoro's demand, but he slowly let go and was placed on the floor. Zoro picked up Nami and Usopp before heading out the door, Chopper and Luffy following quickly behind.

Robin stayed with Sanji and the two 3-year-olds walked together a little behind Zoro. "Is everything alright, Cook-san?"

"I messed up Robin-chan..." He looked down at his feet as he walked sullenly beside the young girl.

"What do you mean?" She clasped her hands behind her back, already sort of knowing what was going on, but she wanted to hear it from Sanji himself.

"He knows. He knows that I faked. He was acting funny in the doctor's room. He seemed reluctant, like he had to force himself to treat me the way he usually does." Sanji sighed. "Did you happen to say anything to him, Robin-chan? As far as I know, you're the only one who knew."

"I only talked to him about what I had been sure he already knew." It was the truth. Robin had been sure that Zoro had held some suspicion over Sanji's behavior. Perhaps he had, but Robin had accidentally thrown it in his face. Not her best move.

"Hey, hey what's that!" Usopp cried, drawing Sanji and Robin's attention. "They're dragging in a salvaged ship." Everyone turned to look at the harbor, watching as the remains of a very familiar ship were dragged into a ship repair dock.

"MERRY!"

* * *

**Author's Note**

Meh heh heh~ you didn't think the doctor would come back would you? :3 I bet you forgot all about him X3 And who was this woman I wonder~ ¬ w ¬

-PD


End file.
